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CARL SCML'RZ. 



HISTORY OF V& 

GERMAN IMMIGRATION 

IN THE UNITED STATES 



AND 



Successful German-Americans 
and Their Descendants 




BY 
GEO. VON SKAL 

1908 






I of CuI\mRESS* 

I wo tAKiiei o 

SEP 17 laua 

UUtt LX_ AAC. > 

) | a. S « 3 

J f a. 



To the memory of the late 

(Earl ^rlutrz 

who, a steadfast and loyal American, remained 
true to German ideals, and devoted his life to the 
betterment of his adopted country, never forget- 
ting or belittling the gifts he had received from 
the land of his birth, 

this utnrk is iirMratrii 



COPYRIGHT, 1908, BY 
F. T. & J. C. SMILEY 

NEW YORK CITY 



INTRODUCTION 



THIS work is intended to be a record of all that 
Germans have accomplished in the United States — 
a record of honest endeavor, energy, perseverance, 
strength and achievement. It shall, in addition, show 
the part that the American citizen of German blood has 
taken in the making of these United States, in peace 
and war, on the battlefield as well as in the counting 
house, the workshop and laboratory, in the realm of 
science and education or in the long fight that was neces- 
sary to extend civilization and culture over a continent. 

It contains a history of German immigration in the 
United States from the first settlements to the present 
day, showing what the Germans were who left the 
fatherland, why they came, and what they did in their 
new country. Every incident throwing light upon the 
work done by the German element has been made use 
of to give a complete, though concise, and impartial re- 
cital of its activity, and a description of the influence it 
has exerted upon the development of the Union. 

In the second part the biographies of many Americans 
of German nativity or descent are given. History is 
not complete if it chronicles only the deeds of the few 
who in times of strife and combat rise above the surface; 
it must tell us of the many who have fought and suc- 
ceeded. The value of so large and important a part of the 
American people as the German immigrants and their 
descendants can be fully understood only if it is shown 
how many of them have been successful, and how 
they have, by long and earnest travail, risen to unusual 
heights. 

THE EDITOR. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction . 

History of German Immigration in the United States - - - 7.42 

A Martyr to Liberty -----.... - - n 

The Pennsylvania Germans - --.-._.. 13 

The Germans During the Revolution -----.. 18 

From the Revolution to the Year 184S ------- 2 5 

The Forty-Eighters -----------28 

The Civil War and the Years Following It 32 

From the Franco-German War to the Present Day ----- -, 4 

Conclusion ------------ -in 

The Percentage of German Blood in the American People - - - 41 

Successful German-Americans and Their Descendants 43 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE 

UNITED STATES 



According to the last Census there were living 
in the United States in 1900 not less than 
2,669,164 persons born in the German Empire. 
Within the few years passed since then, no great 
change can have taken place, for the number of 
German immigrants has probably not been much 
larger than the decrease of the German-Amer- 
ican population by death or the return of Ger- 
mans to the Fatherland. There is, however, no 
doubt but that the number of Germans living 
in the United States is considerably larger than 
the figures given above, for the Census, in de- 
termining nationality, does not take into account 
race but political divisions, and calls only those 
persons Germans who have been born within 
the borders of the German Empire. Several 
hundred thousand immigrants who have come 
from Switzerland, Austria and the Baltic prov- 
inces of Russia, and who are thorough Germans 
in race, tradition and customs, are not classed as 
such by the Census. It is, therefore a very con- 
servative estimate if we assume that the num- 
ber of Germans living in the United States ex- 
ceeds three millions. But even then we cannot 
estimate the strength of the German element and 
the influence it exerts, correctly, because we must 
take into consideration the descendants of the 
immigrants, in whom, although moderated by 
American influences, German ideas and ways of 
thinking are more or less preserved. Here sta- 
tistics cannot help us, for while the Census Bu- 
reau has given us a number of tables showing 
how many native-born Americans had German 
fathers, mothers, or both, this information, val- 
uable as it is, does not tell us how many of 
these descendants may be called German-Amer- 
icans in the sense that they have retained some 
of the valuable traits of their ancestors. How 
quickly complete Americanization destroys even 
the last vestige of the German origin depends 
upon innumerable circumstances, and it happens 
frequently that children who were born in 
Germany and brought to America in early youth 
lose all distinguishing traits before they grow up, 
and retain nothing that betrays their origin, 
while on the other hand, many families remain 
German in disposition and certain ways of think- 



ing for three and even four generations. Where, 
for instance, the knowledge of the German lan- 
guage is cultivated, and the children are made 
acquainted with German literature, the German 
influence upon the mind becomes strong enough 
to be traced and in turn exerted even after all 
connection with the Fatherland has long ceased. 
Taking all these factors into account, and con- 
sidering all manifestations of German origin — 
as, for instance, the numbers of societies which 
are either composed of Germans and their de- 
scendants in the first generation, or which, al- 
though outwardly American, pursue objects and 
ideals essentially German — and viewing the 
strength of movements based upon German ideas, 
the conclusion does not appear extravagant that 
the so-called German-American element comprises 
nearly ten per cent of the population of the Uni- 
ted States. The percentage of German blood in 
the American people is undoubtedly much larger ; 
careful and conservative investigators have placed 
it as high as twenty-five per cent. 

It goes without saying that so large a part of 
the total population of the country must neces- 
sarily have exerted considerable influence upon 
the formation of the character of the American 
people. Whether this influence has always been 
used in the right way and with the full strength 
it possessed is an open question and has been 
doubted by many, especially by Germans with 
scant knowledge of American conditions. The 
United States would long have been a German 
country and the English language would have 
disappeared if pen and printing ink could have 
accomplished it. Extravagant love of race or 
country and unreasoning enthusiasm based upon 
impractical hopes and dreams are, however, not 
sufficient to bring about tangible results and do 
not qualify their possessors to sit in judgment 
upon the work accomplished by Germans in 
America. To do this a thorough knowledge of 
the history of the country, of its institutions and 
evolution, as well as of the German immigra- 
tion since its beginning is required. In another 
chapter the attempt will be made to show what 
Germans could accomplish here, and what they 
have done, but before this is undertaken a short 



8 HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION JX THE I'XITED STATES 



but exhaustive sketch of the history of German 
immigration will be given- 
There is, unfortunately, n<> complete history 
of German immigration in existence. A number 
of works have been written dealing with single 
or treating short periods. But sufficient 
material is at hand to show how widely the qual- 
ity of the immigrants differed in the several 
periods during which Germans arrived here in 
large numbers, and how far apart these periods 
were. A careful examination of all known facts 
will not only show what the Germans brought to 
America hut also whether they made full use of 
the opportunities extended to them. And it may 
be stated right here that the result cannot fail 
to raise the popular estimate of the value of the 
German immigrant. 

The first traces of the German immigration 
extend back to the settlement of Manhattan 
I>l.md by the Dutch. Peter Minuit or Minnewit, 
who was appointed director-general of New Neth- 
erlands by the Amsterdam Chamber of Com- 
merce and purchased Manhattan Island from the 
Indian- foi tulders, came from Wesel and 

herefore a German. Among the colonists 
who arrived here during the first half of the 
Seventeenth Century were many Germans, prin- 
cipally from the lower Rhine, from Geldern, 
Westphalia, Friesland and Ditmarschen. Ger- 
many and Holland were at that time neither po- 
litically nor economically as sharply separated as 
now. The Hutch language was closely related to 
the dialects spoken in the neighboring provinces 
of Germany and its difference from them be- 
came more marked much later through the in- 
fluence of the Flemish. German immigration 
was not confined to the districts named, however, 
for many came from Holstein, llesse, Thuringia, 
Swabia, the Efanse cities and from Switzerland. 
'I'll'-'- col( '-I exert no influence whatever 

upon the development of tin- new country. They 
not numerous enough, consisted mainly of 
laborers and mechanics, and I probably 

little education. They soon losl their iden- 
tity, changed their name-- to make them sound 
Dutch, rmd disappeared completely among the 

Hollander-. Every trace of them would be lost 

if shipowners in Amsterdam had not kepi and 

.'d the lists of the p; they for- 

warded to Alio 

A tew years later an attempt was made 1.. 
found a German colony in Delaware, near the 
• the city of Wilmington. It is 
true that this settlement was founded by the 
Swedish Government and called New Sweden, 
but incontrovertible proofs -how that the colo 
■ .itn.- almost without exception from Pom 



crania and Western Prussia, German provinces 
■rarily occupied by the Swedes. The leader 
of the first expedition was the same Peter Minne- 
wit who had bought New Netherlands from the 
Indians and had later left the Dutch service. 
The treaty through which he acquired the neces- 
sary land for his new enterprise was written in 
Low German or Plattdeutsch. Minnewit arrived 
in the spring of 1638 and succeeded in taking the 
fur trade on the Delaware away from the Dutch. 
Three years later he disappeared, but whether 
he died or returned to Europe remains a mystery. 
His successor was the Swedish officer, Johann 
Print/, Edler von Buchau, another German and 
a scion <>f a well known German family which 
still exists. While he ruled New Sweden the 
quarrels between this colony and the Dutch of 
New Netherland began, because the thrifty 
Hollanders wanted a monopoly of the fur trade 
and did not intend to divide it with others. Print/, 
returned soon to Europe and was followed by 
another German, Johann Resingh of Elbing. In 
the meantime the Thirty Years' War had ended, 
Sweden was too weak to assist the distant colony 
and when, in September, 1655, Peter Stuyvesant 
appeared with a strong force before the Swedish 
fortifications, Resingh was forced to surrender. 
He was permitted to return to Sweden with his 
troops, but many of the colonists were killed or 
robbed of all their possessions. The few who 
were allowed to remain had to swear allegiance 
to the Dutch Government. The second attempt 
to form a German colony in America had thus 
ended in complete disaster and did not even leave 
traces of the work done. 

But soon a mighty stream of German immi- 
grants began to flow. For almost one hundred 
years they came to seek homes, liberty and peace. 
Not always in stub masses as during the first 
half of the Eighteenth Century, and sometimes 
interrupted, but still continuous and steady 
enough to mark an epoch in the history of the 

country. And the Germans who arrived here 
during that time were in the main so much alike 
and the motives which caused them to leave their 
Fatherland were so similar, ami at the same time 
so different, from the causes of later movements 
of the same kind, that this one must be treated 

by itself and may be designated as the religious 
period of German immigration. 

The Thirty Years' War had ended. Its rav- 

;i^es had well nigh destroyed the German nation 
and changed a flourishing country into a desert. 
Towns and villages were in ruins, horses and cat- 
tle bad all but disappeared. Worse than this; 
the spirit of the people, hunted, persecuted, robbed 
and murdered without interruption for thirty 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 9 



years, was utterly broken. The burgher, once so 
proud and active, had become weak and timid. 
Only masters and serfs were left. The people 
had neither strength nor courage to fight for the 
rights that had been taken away by the soldier 
who rode through the land and took what he 
wanted. Germany was divided into small prin- 
cipalities without number, ruled by princes who 
claimed to be set up by the grace of God, and 
who considered the land and the people as their 
own personal property. The very meaning of 
freedom and liberty had become unknown ; noth- 
ing but constraint was visible, in trade, in the ex- 
ercise of the religious creed and even in domestic 
life. The long and bloody war had prevented the 
extinction of Protestantism but it had not brought 
religious liberty. The people were powerless 
against the oppression practised on all sides. 
Their only hope was in flight from unbearable 
conditions. And now began the remarkable spec- 
tacle that whole congregations and communities 
set out on the long and weary march to the At- 
lantic Ocean where ships were waiting to carry 
them to other shores. Led by their ministers 
and teachers, singing psalms and hymns, they 
marched thus, carrying their women and chil- 
dren on heavy wagons drawn by the strongest 
of the men, through Germany and Holland, fol- 
lowed and persecuted by the Government until 
they had crossed the border. And down the river 
Rhine floated large boats and barges carrying the 
population of whole villages with their belongings. 

Not all these emigrants left their homes be- 
cause they were prevented from exercising their 
religion. Even at that time agents of ship- 
owners traveled through Germany, notably along 
the Rhine, in the Palatinate and in Swabia, try- 
ing to persuade people to emigrate to America. 
They were lavish in their promises and held out 
hopes that could never be realized, and they found 
many followers. Want and poverty and the 
seeming impossibility of ever improving the con- 
ditions surrounding them drove many away. The 
terrible winter of 1708-9, when the birds froze 
in the air in their flight and the wine in the casks, 
and when almost all the vineyards in the Palati- 
nate were destroyed, caused the emigration of 
many thousands. The devastation of the Palat- 
inate by the French under General Melac, of 
which the ruins of the castle at Heidelberg still 
remain as a memento, induced many others to 
cross the ocean. But the desire to escape oppres- 
sion and constant want and to find civic and re- 
ligious liberty were the general causes of this 
mighty movement of many thousands of people 
and gave to it the peculiar character it possesses. 

The first large body of which authentic reports 



are in existence consisted of farmers from Alsa- 
tia and the Palatinate. They arrived in 1677 and 
settled along the Wallkill River, where they 
founded the still flourishing town of New Paltz. 
They were followed by a number of Huguenots 
and to this day most of the family names of the 
district in question show the German or French 
origin. In 1709 came sixty-one families from the 
Palatinate under the guidance of their pastor, 
Josua von Kocherthal, and founded Newburg. 
They were the advance guard of the many thou- 
sands already moving towards the land of prom- 
ise. Kocherthal was a man of great energy and 
skill ; he succeeded in settling nearly three hun- 
dred families on both banks of the Hudson. 
Hunterstown, Kingsbury, Annsbury, Haysbury, 
Rhinebeck, Newtown, Georgetown, Elizabethtown, 
Kingston and Esopus were founded by him. These 
colonists were at first treated with great respect 
by the English authorities. They received as much 
land as they needed and the settlement at New- 
burg was given five hundred acres to support 
the Protestant Church. But as soon as the poor 
Germans had changed the wild forest into well- 
tilled fields and blooming gardens the English 
and the Dutch sought means to deprive them of 
the fruits of their labor. They succeeded in 
many cases and the greater part of the German 
settlers on the Hudson lost courage finally and 
went to Pennsylvania where large numbers of 
their countrymen had taken undisturbed posses- 
sion of extended tracts of land. In 1747 the 
Protestant Church at Newburg was taken away 
from the remaining Germans by force. 

The greatest body to leave at the same time 
started in the spring of 1709, after the hard win- 
ter that has been mentioned. They went through 
Holland to England and the governments of both 
countries were practically helpless when this vast 
army descended upon them. A large camp was 
formed near London and this is said to have con- 
tained fifteen thousand people at one time. For 
a while it excited the curiosity of the Londoners 
and the Court visited it repeatedly. But it was 
impossible to feed this mass and means had to 
be found to disperse it. Almost all the Catho- 
lics were returned to their homes. Nearly four 
thousand were sent to Ireland where they re- 
tained their customs for over a century but final- 
ly disappeared. Between six hundred and seven 
hundred were sent to North Carolina where they 
were swallowed up by the English-speaking popu- 
lation, although traces of them can still be found 
in the names of towns and families. Many of 
the young men were drafted into the army, and 
several thousand succumbed to the privations they 
had to undergo. Of three thousand that went 



in HISTokV OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IX THE I'XITED STATES 



to New York eight hundred died during the 
journey. Several hundred remained in New York, 
the rest, probably two thousand, were given land 
on both banks of the Hudson, a few miles south 

itskill. This was a distinct breach of the 
promises made t.» them by the English Govern- 
ment which had set aside for them the fertile 
district on the Schoharie and the Mohawk rivers. 

n in their camp near London, the Germans 
had met several Mohawk chiefs who had invited 
them to settle among them, and the crown had 
granted the necessary permission. But when the 
colonists arrived at New York Governor Robert 
Hunter decided that they ought to be made to 
repay the their support and transporta- 

tion had caused, ami in order to accomplish this 

nt them to the pine forests of the Hudson 
to make pitch until their debt was liquidated. 
The enterprise tailed completely. The poor Ger- 
mans were without tools or implements and had 
en the most necessary means of subsistence. 
Hunter did not furnish them with the promised 
took away their ritles, because he re- 
mained in constant fear that they would go away, 
and thus made it impossible for them to hunt 
game. Their children were taken away from them 
and apprenticed to Englishmen in New York, and 
two years elapsed before the first crop could be 

red In their despair the settlers revolted 
against their oppressors but were quickly sub- 
dued by British troop-,. But the man to meet the 
emergency arose. Johann Konrad Weiser, who, 
as ..ne of the leaders of the settlers, had incurred 

Special disfavor • .-rnor Hunter, and 

children had been taken away from him, 
ded about one hundred of the more enter- 
prising spirits to follow him to the Schoharie. 
They set out in the winter of 1712, in deep snow, 
pursued by soldiers, and arrived at their desti- 
nation after suffering terrible hardships, When 
they arrived among the friendly Indians they 

.veil nigh starved and exhausted, and in ad- 
dition they w. 1 by a formal order from 
Hunter to return forthwith to their camp on the 
dians offered t,, protect them 
and the Governor did not have enough troops to 
risk a war with the Mohawks. I he new 
tlemenl flourished, and Weiser's little band was 

joined by many of those who had remained 

behind. Before many years had passed a string 

of vill the Schoharie 

Mohawk but the troubles of the Ger- 



mans were not ended. The English and Dutch 
colonists locked upon the independent farmers 
who tilled their own land with envy and hatred. 
They wanted to own the land and rent it out to 
tenants working it. A feudal state with the aris- 
tocracy possessing all the land was their ideal. 
They attacked the crown titles of the Germans 
and constant quarrels were the consequence. 
Weiser went to London to get justice, but failed, 
was captured by pirates and sold into slavery. 
Years later he returned, an old man, but not 
broken in spirit. Rather than submit to the de- 
mands of the English and Dutch landholders he 
decided to move his tents again. In 1723 he 
started out as the leader of thirty-three families, 
taking their women and children with them. 
Guided by Indians they followed the Schoharie 
into the mountains till they reached the head- 
waters of the Susquehanna. Down this river they 
went to the mouth of the Swatara and then along 
its shores to the region that is now Berks County, 
Pa. Here they found at last the peace they had 
been looking for so long. They were given the 
land they needed, and not far from where large 
numbers of their countrymen had already settled. 
Their trials were ended. What the} accomplished 
in I'.erks County will be told when the settlement 
of Pennsylvania by the Germans is described, but 
it must be mentioned here that they would never 
have succeeded in their search if they had not 
made friends of the Indians. Weiser and his son, 
Konrad, were just in all their transactions with 
the savages, treated them kindly and were not 
only never molested but frequently assisted by 
them when they needed help. They retained their 
influence over them until they died. Konrad 
Weiser became justice of the peace, colonel in the 
militia and official interpreter for the government 
of Pennsylvania, for he spoke the languagi 

all the tribes in the territory east of the Missis- 
sippi. Mis services were constantly required for 
negotiations with the Indians. ML daughter mar- 
ried the Rev. Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg, who 
had come to America in 17.}-'. and hei two sons, 
General Peter Muhlenberg and Friedrich August, 
president of the Pennsylvania convention which 
ratified the Constitution of the United States, and 
tirst speaker of the House of Representatives un 
d.r Washington's administrations, played import- 
ant parts in the establishment of the independence 
of the I nitcd Siate- of America. 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 11 



A MARTYR TO LIBERTY 



We must interrupt our narrative here to give 
the history of a man who may rightly be called 
the first martyr to liberty on American soil. His 
memory should be preserved and he deserves a 
place in this history, not so much because he was 
a German, but because it seems to have been for- 
gotten that he died in a righteous cause. Even 
in the text-books used in American schools he is 
often called a rebel, and the impression prevails 
that his execution was the natural consequence of 
disloyal acts. Nothing could be farther from the 
truth. 

Jacob Leisler was born in the neighborhood of 
Frankfurt-on-the-Main as the son of poor peas- 
ants. He was hardly more than a boy when he 
emigrated to the Netherlands and entered the 
service of a merchant as apprentice. In 1660 he 
came to New Amsterdam to engage in the fur 
trade on his own account. Shrewd, frugal, care- 
ful and yet enterprising, he soon prospered. His 
business became very large and compelled him to 
make frequent trips to Europe. On one of these 
journeys he was captured by pirates and sold into 
slavery but regained his liberty by paying a large 
ransom. In the meantime England had taken 
possession of the colony and changed its name to 
New York. During the reign of Charles II and 
of James II the governors and other high officials 
sent from England joined hands with the landed 
proprietors in the hope of founding an aristocracy 
that could rule the other inhabitants after the 
manner of the feudal system existing in Europe. 
The favorites of the King who had received 
grants of large tracts of land did not sell any of 
it but rented it to those wishing to cultivate the 
soil. The population became divided into two 
parts, the aristocrats and the common citizens 
who were preyed upon in every conceivable man- 
ner. The merchants naturally became the lead- 
ers of the people and Leisler was foremost among 
the defenders of equal rights and justice for all. 
He was kind of heart and possessed unlimited 
courage. When Governor Sir Edward Andros at- 
tempted to deprive the colonists of the privileges 
granted to them, Leisler protested and was thrown 
into prison. His friends desired to give bail to 
release him, but he would not permit it. He said 
that by furnishing bail he would recognize the 
authority of the governor to arrest him, and this 
he did not want to do. He remained in jail until 
Andros had to set him free. This action increased 
his prestige with the people immensely. From his 



many charitable deeds one may be selected. Many 
of the Huguenots who came to America had been 
compelled to flee from France without money or 
other means of subsistence. They were as a rule 
sold to the highest bidder who had to pay their 
passage and in this way acquired the right to 
work these serfs — for that is what they were in 
fact — until he considered that they had repaid 
his outlay. Leisler happened to be at the wharf 
when one of these ships arrived. He felt deep 
pity for the unfortunate passengers who were well 
educated and had evidently been brought up in 
comparative luxury. Before the usual auction 
began, he paid the passage money for all of them 
and sent them to a tract of land he owned on 
Long Island Sound. There they founded a vil- 
lage and called it New Rochelle. 

When William of Orange became King of Eng- 
land the Governor of New York and his aristo- 
cratic friends tried to suppress the news. The 
people, however, soon heard of the change and 
naturally hailed it with delight. As the officials 
continued their rule of oppression a riot broke out 
on June 2, i68ojacob Leisler as the commander 
of the militia was forced to take charge. He 
compelled Governor Nicholson to deliver into his 
hands the fort and the treasury. A Committee of 
Safety was organized with Leisler at the head. 
On June 22 the inhabitants formally took the oath 
of allegiance to William and Mary. Later on 
Leisler was appointed Governor of New York. 
But his administration was not successful because 
the aristocracy did not recognize his authority 
and tried to place obstacles in his way. When the 
war with France broke out he was unable to de- 
fend the colony, partly because the English gen- 
erals did not consider themselves bound to act in 
harmony with him, partly because he did not 
possess the knowledge required for operations of 
this kind. The reverses he suffered made it easy 
for his enemies to gain the ear of the King, and 
Leisler was deposed two years after he had taken 
office. 

In Leisler's place General Sloughter had been 
appointed, a man of loose habits and addicted to 
drinking. Sloughter was in no hurry to come to 
New York because he liked the hospitality ex- 
tended to him by the landed proprietors whose 
plantations he passed on his way from the South. 
He sent a Captain Ingoldsby ahead to take pos- 
session of the colony, but Leisler declined to de- 
liver the fort and the treasury because Ingoldsby 



12 HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IX THE UNITED STATICS 



could ii"t produce any written order or authority 
from Sloughter. This was the opportunity for 
which Leister's enemies had-been waiting. In spite 
of the fact that the former governor treated In- 
goldsby with great courtesy and immediately 
up everything to Sloughter when the latter finally 
arrived, they complained thai Leisler had wilfully 

ted the commands of the King. Sloughter 
appointed a special court consisting of four of 
his own officers and four civilians, all enemies of 
Leisler, to sit in judgment upon the late Governor 
ami his son-in-law. The composition of the court 
> manifestly unfair that the accused and 
practically the whole population, with the • 
tion of the aristocratic element, protested, l>ut 

. !er would not listen to them. As was to 
be expected, Leisler and his son-in-law, Milbourne, 
were found guilty of high treason and were con- 
demned to death by hanging. But even Sloughter 
ted to sign this severe decree, and Leisler's 
enemies had to arrange a banquet in order to 
make the Governor drunk, in which condition it 

an easy matter to make him sign anything. 
They did not want to run the risk of a mitigation 
of the sentence after Sloughter had become sober 
and consequently their victims were executed on 
the morning of the following day while Sloughter 
•ill asleep. The scene was dramatic in the 
high( On the scaffold .Milbourne faced 

the instigator of this brutal act, the same Robert 
Livingston who, in later years, became the op- 
r of the Palatines, and called out to him: 
I ivingston, for this deed you will have- 
to answer before the judgment throne of Al- 
mighty God." Leisler remained quiet and com- 
: in a few words he stated thai he had done 

nothing but his duty, and then said to the sheriff: 
"I am ready." At this moment dark clouds hid 

un, a terrific storm arose and the rain came 

down in torrents. The immense crowd that had 

Med around the gallows began to cry and 

to pray, and loud condemnations against tin- Gov 
ernor and the aristocracy were heard from all 
as Leisler was d< ad the people 
fairly stormed the gallows and cut off his hair 
and hi- clothes; they were divided into bits and 
i as relies of the litst martyr to 
liberie on American s,,j| Four years later the 
English Parliament the judgmenl pro 

nounced by Sloughter's court. Lord Bellamount, 
later Governor of New York, stated, after a care- 
ful examination of the papers: "These men were 
murdered, cruelly murdered." Leisler's Jon le- 
an indemnity of one thousand pounds from 

' wii, Bui it was ■ tWO of tin no 

men that ever lived in tin- colony had been 
killed and could ii"t be broughl back to life Jus 



tice requires it, however, to keep in mind that 
Jacob Leisler was not a rebel, but a patriot and 
hero, and wherever we find a statement that does 
not agree with these facts it should be corrected. 
[1 may be mentioned here that it was a German, 
too, who first defended the right to a free press. 
Johann Peter Zenger had come to New York in 
1710 as a boy and had been apprenticed to William 
Bradford, a printer. He was a very intelligent 
and ambitious young man and won his employer's 
confidence to such a degree that he became his 
partner. But Bradford was a champion of the 
aristocracy and defended it in his paper, the New 
York Gazette, while Zenger took the side of the 
common people. They parted, and Zenger founded 
the Weekly Journal, lie did not hesitate to at- 
tack Governor Cosby when he, in order to 
strengthen his party, went beyond the limits of 
his authority. As repeated warnings could not 
swerve Zenger from doing what he considered 
his right and duty, Cosby had him arrested and 
kept him in prison for nearly nine months. All 
efforts of Zenger's friends to procure a regular 
trial for him seemed to be in vain, but finally 
the Governor yielded to the determined stand 
taken by the people's party. Zenger was brought 
to trial in 1735 and his friends secured for him 
the services of one of the most brilliant advocates 
of the day, A. Hamilton of Philadelphia. The 
defence proved that every statement made by the 
Weekly Journal had been true, and the prose- 
cution attempted to show that the press had no 
righl to criticise the government under any cir- 
cumstances. In a grand speech that has become 
a classic and was widely and with great effect 
quoted wdien fifty years later the fight for a free 
press was successfully waged in England, Ham- 
ilton plucked this claim to pieces, and the jury 
acquitted Zenger immediately after the court had 
made- its charge. He was taken home by a 
throng that was wild with delight, and a few 
days later the aldermen of the city presented him 

with a golden Snuffbox. The bold attempt to 

muzzle the press bad been successfully baffled 

by a citizen of German birth. These two 
incidents indicate, what can be shown with the 
help of many facts beyond confutation, that all 
through the colonial days the Germans were 
always arrayed on the side of the people and 

liberty, and that it must be ascribed to them to 
a large extent if all attempts to transplant the 
European feudal system to America and to per 
with special privileges and the 

rirjit to govern the masses, were frustrated. 
From the earliesl days they have stood firmly 

againsl Oppression and never faltered when the 
liberties of tbi' people had to be defended It 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 13 



will be shown how they were among the first 
to take up arms during the war of the revolution. 
They knew from bitter experience what oppres- 



sion meant, and they were not willing to allow 
themselves to be robbed of the choicest fruit of 
all their sacrifices, liberty. 



THE PENNSYLVANIA GERMANS 



We must now retrace our steps because the 
German immigration in Pennsylvania must be 
treated as a distinct and separate chapter, and 
has not been touched upon in order to furnish 
a consecutive narrative of the fate of the Ger- 
mans following the first settlers on Manhattan 
Island. The Pennsylvania Germans, or as they 
are generally called, the Pennsylvania Dutch, 
came in such numbers and kept so closely togeth- 
er for almost a century, preserving even to this 
day many of their customs and their language, 
though their speech has been corrupted by the 
adoption of English words and the change of 
German expressions where they sounded similar 
to those used by Americans, that they must be 
looked upon as a group different from all the 
others. Their importance to the United States 
may be judged from the fact that at the begin- 
ning of the revolutionary war at least 100,000 
Germans had settled in Pennsylvania, but it will 
be shown here that they exerted a strong influ- 
ence not by their numbers alone but also by other 
and more valuable qualities. 

The causes which drove these masses from 
their homes were the same that have been ex- 
plained at length in the first chapter. The misery 
caused by the Thirty Years' War and by the 
tyranny of the princess after peace had been 
concluded, together with the failure of crops, 
but above all religious persecution, were the mov- 
ing forces. The emigration to Pennsylvania 
differs from other similar movements, however, in 
one important particular, inasmuch as it was 
started by one man, William Penn. He had be- 
come a Quaker missionary and as such visited 
several places in Germany where small numbers 
of Quakers existed or where similar sects had been 
founded that might be converted to the creed 
he followed. His eyes were turned towards 
America where he hoped to find freedom of wor- 
ship for his followers. In Frankfurt-on-the- 
Main he succeeded in forming a society with the 
object of buying a tract of land in America and 
emigrating thither. The opportunity for execu- 
ting his plans came when Charles II, in pay- 
ment of a debt of sixteen thousand pounds the 
crown owed to Penn's father, gave the son the 
vast tract between the colonies of New Jersey 



and Delaware. Penn immediately resolved to 
found a state in which religious as well as po- 
litical freedom should be granted to every inhab- 
itant. He called it a "Holy Experiment." In 
pamphlets printed in English and German he 
called attention to his plans. One of these fell 
into the hands of Franz Daniel Pastorius, a 
young law student, who was acquainted with sev- 
eral members of the society Penn had founded 
at Frankfurt. He became so enthusiastic that 
he decided to emigrate. His friends were not 
ready to join him, but he found a number of 
Mennonites and Quakers at Kriegsheim and Cre- 
feld who were willing to follow him. Pasto- 
rius set out almost immediately, arriving at Phil- 
adelphia on August 16, 1683, where he was 
warmly welcomed by Penn. The ship Concord, 
frequently, and with good reason, called the 
German Mayflower, landed the first thirteen Ger- 
man families on October 6, 1483, and this day 
marks the real beginning of German immigra- 
tion into the United States, and is to this day 
celebrated as "German Day." The little band 
settled near Philadelphia and founded German- 
town, not without trials and hardships, for most 
of the men had been weavers and were not used 
to the hard work awaiting them. They succeeded, 
however, and after about fifty more families had 
followed them the tract of land heretofore held 
in common was divided. In 1691 Germantown 
was made a city and the number of inhabitants 
had increased to such an extent that a number 
of them could devote themselves to the indus- 
tries they had learned in their youth. Soon Ger- 
mantown became known for the excellence of the 
linen and knit goods its inhabitants manufac- 
tured. Thus the Germans laid the foundation of 
one of the most important industries of the 
United States long before Americans thought 
of producing at home anything but the plainer 
and coarser fabrics, and while all superior goods 
were imported from England. 

The fame of Pennsylvania soon spread all 
over Germany. The country where every one 
could follow his religious convictions and where 
nobody was persecuted, punished or banished for 
belonging to any church not recognized by the 
government — and only the Catholic, the Lutheran 



14 HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IX THE IXITED STATES 



and the Reformed Church were officially sanc- 
tioned— seemed indeed like the promised hind. 
The sufferings the German people had undergone 
had created in this nation, so much given to in- 
trospective contemplation, a deep religious feel- 
ing which was not satisfied but rather offended 
by the dogmatic strictness of the established 
churches. New sects sprang up almost every day, 
every one attempting, in it- own particular way, 
the true teachings of the Savior ac- 
cording to the ideas of the founders. Some of 
them found their peace in the most remarkable 
and sometimes strange forms of worship but all 
imbued with that deep religious feeling 
which has found expression in the word pietism. 
They all sent colonies to America. The first 
were the Mystics, who arrived in l<V)4 under 
the leadership of Johann Kelpius, and settled 
on the banks of the Wissahickon. Their com- 
munity did not last long, and the last survivor, 
Conrad Beissel, became the founder of the 
Ephrata community. Large numbers of Men- 
nonites followed them; the founders of German- 
town were German Mennonites but members of 
this sect did not arrive in large numbers until 
after some of the Swiss cantons expelled them 
in 1 710 on account of their refusal to bear arms. 
The "Tunker" or Dunkards, the Schwenkfelders, 
the Pietists and otl followed. The Mo- 

ravians had originally settled in Georgia but 
came to Pennsylvania in 1738 because they had 
isked to take up arms in the war between 
England and Spain. They differed from other 
they were not content with prac- 
tising their religion but devoted themselves to 
educational and missionary work. Their work 
among the Indians was especially successful. 
They did not alone preach to the savages but 
they taught them how to work and proved at 
that early day what many people will ii"t believe 
even now: that tin- Indian ran be broughl 1" till 
the s,,il and to learn a trade. Their work in this 
direction was nol destined to last. The I LI 

could never be prevailed upon to look at the 
Indian as a brother, and considered his advance- 
ment a danger to civilization; the High Church 
clergy was incensed at the number of Indians 
who joined the Moravians, and the traders hated 
the missionaries because they would nol allow 
them to sell brandy to their charges. The Mo- 
ravians were driven oul of New York and Penn 
sylvania and founded flourishing settlements in 
the primeval forests of Ohio Here their Indian 
pupils, surrounded by fertile fields and orchards, 

increased in number from year to year, buried 

the tomahawk and lived in peace and plenty until, 
in 17SJ, a band of backwoodsmen, under the 



leadership of David Williamson, set upon them 
and with almost incredible cruelty annihilated 
them. The unarmed Indians were allowed to as- 
semble in two houses where they took leave of 
each other, prayed and sang hymns in the Ger- 
man tongue until the last one had been mur- 
dered in cold blood. Only two boys, who had 
been fortunate enough to find secure hiding places, 
escaped. The villages and the work of the Mo- 
ravian missionaries, extending over many years, 
were wiped out of existence within a few hours. 
To defend this awful deed some historians have 
claimed that the Indians and their teachers were 
a danger to the white population because they 
allowed hostile savages to dwell near white set- 
tlements under the guise of peaceful converts. 
Nothing can be found to substantiate this claim, 
and as far as the missionaries are concerned we 
have abundant proof that they were always ready 
to sacrifice themselves for the welfare of their 
white brothers. In 1758 one of them, Christian 
Friedrich Post, traveled from Fort Duquesne 
through the wilderness to the camps of the In- 
dians whom France tried to make allies in her 
war upon the English colonies. He succeeded 
in winning them away from the French and 
therel>\ probably saved the day for England. His 
diary is still in existence and shows what ter- 
rible dangers he underwent in order to serve his 

country. *» 

y~A word must be said as to the trials and trib-l 
ulations these immigrants had tq pass through) 
before they could begin to found new homes for 
themselves. We have already described how they 
reached the coast of the Atlantic. There they 
were literally packed into sailing vessels which 
were in no way prepared for carrying human 
beings. As a rule they were nol even sufficiently 
provisioned, and when the trip lasted longer than 
the captain had anticipated the passengers had 
to live on the rats and mice they caught. Caspar 
Wintar tells us of such a journey during which 
One hundred and fifty passengers died from fever 
and starvation. Mittelberger, who published an 
nt of his voyage to America, says that 
thirty-two children died and were buried in the 
Ocean. Ship fever was no prevalent that it was 
called "Palatine Fever" and was looked upon as 
a peculiar sickness to which German immigrants 

were victims. Nobody thought of disinfecting 

'lips, and smallpox broke out again and 
again on the same vessel, which continued to 
carry immigrants in spite of this. But nothing 
could break the spirit of those sturdy men and 
women who were imbued with the deepest re- 
ligious feeling. In the hour of danger and 
amidst all the horrors they would assemble and 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 15 



sing their hymns or pray to the good Lord to 
deliver them, having an unbounded faith in His 
will and kindness. Their firm belief that they 
were in His hands helped them to endure all 
suffering. 

For many of them the hardships were not 
ended when they had reached the new country. 
As soon as emigration increased to such an ex- 
tent that the carrying of passengers became a 
profitable business, shipowners sent agents to 
Germany and Switzerland promising free passage 
to America. Many availed themselves of this 
seemingly liberal offer. Others who could have 
paid were induced to spend their money before 
embarking, and were then carried free. But 
when they reached America they were sold to 
people needing help and had to work for them 
until their passage money was paid. Children 
whose parents died during the voyage were sold 
into virtual slavery and the property of any pas- 
senger who died was taken possession of by the 
captain. These abuses lasted until long after 
the Revolution. It has been said that the custom 
of selling passengers to work for their passage 
was not wholly bad, that it was certainly not 
looked upon as a disgrace, that it helped many 
to come here who would otherwise have been 
compelled to remain in misery, and that this 
semi-serfdom gave the immigrants an opportun- 
ity to acquire a knowledge of their new sur- 
roundings before they were compelled to strike 
out for themselves. There is some truth in this 
but it must not be forgotten that a great many of 
the immigrants were of good education and not 
used to work as menials, and that frequently the 
different members of a family were sold to dif- 
ferent parties living widely apart. In this way 
parents and children, brothers and sisters, and 
even husband and wife, were sometimes separated 
forever. It must, however, be said that the im- 
migrants sold for service were as a rule treated 
fairly well, protected by the law and furnished 
with an outfit when their time had expired. Still 
the system was cruel, and not much more can be 
said for it than that it might have been worse 
yet. 

These immigrants were by no means unedu- 
cated and ignorant as has been supposed by many 
writers. The vital fact must be kept in view 
that most of them did not go to America in 
order to improve their material welfare alone. 
This was one of the motives but by no means 
the strongest. They yearned for religious free- 
dom, for freedom of thought, and nobody cares 
for this whose mind has not been awakened. 
Since the Reformation it had become the general 
custom in Protestant Germany to unite religion 



and education. Hardly a village was without a 
teacher and there were few children who did not 
learn how to read and write. Many of the im- 
migrants were quite well educated and there was 
even a sprinkling of what might be called learned 
men among them. Their leaders had almost 
without exception received a university education. 
It stands to reason that they would not have gone 
to America with a horde of utterly ignorant 
people, nor would they have been selected as 
leaders by them. Daniel Pastorius, Josua von 
Kocherthal, Johann Kelpius, Heinrich Bernhard 
Koster, Daniel Falckner and others were men 
of the very highest attainments. Additional 
proof is furnished by the fact that the German 
settlers sent to Germany for their preachers 
when the original leaders had died. They wanted 
men of intelligence and learning to lead them, 
and they could not get them in America because 
there the schools had not progressed far enough. 
It was quite natural that they looked upon their 
ministers as the intellectual leaders because their 
whole life was centered in religious thought and 
they could not imagine any other way of satis- 
fying their thirst for knowledge. In this man- 
ner many eminent men came to America as 
preachers and teachers and the German parochial 
schools were soon readily acknowledged as su- 
perior to the English. Among these men was 
Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg. He had studied 
at Goettingen and Halle and came to America 
in 1742 where he soon became the organizer of 
the Lutheran Church. Within a few years he 
had united the different congregations and cre- 
ated an organization that has lasted to this day. 
What Muhlenberg did for the Lutherans, Mi- 
chael Schlatter accomplished for the Reformed 
Church. The leader of the Moravians, Count 
Zinzendorf, failed, however, when he came to 
America, in 1741, with the intention of carrying 
out his plan of uniting all the different sects in 
one Protestant Church. Numerous others came 
but not enough to satisfy the colonists for in 
examining the documents of the time we hear 
continually that more ministers and teachers were 
wanted. 

It is true that the German settlers bitterly op- 
posed the establishment of the free common 
schools but this does not prove, as some writers 
have claimed, that they were hostile to education. 
On the contrary, they saw clearly that their own 
schools were better than the first common schools 
established, and for this reason wanted to retain 
the former. They also desired very much that 
their children should learn the language of their 
parents. Above all, however, it was their deep 
religious feeling which made it practically im- 



16 HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IX THE UNITED STATES 



possible for them to permit their children to 
attend a school in which either religion was not 
taught at all. <>r where different creeds were 
treated with equal respect. They believed firmly 
that the child belonged first to God, then to its 
parents and then to the state. The fight was a 
hitter and a long one hut it was finally won by 
the common schools, and it i- significant that 
the governor of Pennsylvania who succeeded in 
having the system adopted was a German, George 
Wolf. That the Pennsylvania Germans were 
not opposed to education a- such i- besl shown 
by the fact that the state they helped to 
found contain- more high schools than most of 
the others, and that many of these institutions 
were founded by German-. These people were 
very pious hut by no means narrow-minded fan- 
atic-. The different sects often clashed on re- 
ligious questions hut they never carried their 
differences so far as to persecute those who be- 
lieved differently. They admitted every man's 
right to hold and preach his particular religious 
convictions. While witches were burnt and 
Quakers executed in New England the Pennsyl- 
vania Germans, though divided into many sects, 
lived together in peace and practised toleration. 
They had themselves suffered too much and the 
true Christian -pirit had taken possession of them 
too fully to allow them to harm others who did 
not try to harm them, hut simply had chosen a 
different road to reach the same goal. Their 
cial influence upon the development of the 
religious life and the relations between church 
and state, a- well a- between the different sects, 
cannot he overestimated. 

It ha- already been mentioned that the Penn 
sylvania Germans were a- solicitous for their 
mental a- for their material welfare. It was only 
natural that above all they wanted hook- treat 
ing the religious side of life, for the whole trend 
of their mind tended t,, keep them away from 

worldly things and from literature of a worldly 
kind. Besides, tiny could not have kepi Up a 
connection with the Fatherland close enough to 

•hem informed of the literary activit) go 

ing on ti I nsequently hymn and prayer 

I k- wen ' which the ' ierman printers 

published. Not they alone, for American print- 
er-, among them the greal Benjamin Franklin, 

I honk- and new-paper- printed in 1 1 1 ■ 

man language. In fact, Franklin published not 

only the first German hook- printed in America. 

hut al-o the first newspaper of which, however, 
only a few numbers appeared. This was in [732 

and up to that time only -mall pamphlets and 

leaflets had been printed. But to Christoph Saur 
belongs 'he credit of having founded the firsl 



printing house that used German type, lie came 
to America in 17J4 and first tried farming in 
Lancaster County hut did not succeed. In 1738 
he imported a printing-press and type from Ger- 
many and established a business in Germantown 
that soon reached large dimensions. His first 
publication was the "High-German-American Al- 
manach," which appeared regularly until 177s. 
Many other publications followed, mostly hymn 
and prayer hooks hut also quite a number of 
historical works, English and German school 
books and political pamphlets. On August 20, 
[739, he published the first number of the first 
German newspaper on American -oil (the abor- 
tive attempt on Franklin's part deserves no con- 
sideration). The paper was at first published 
monthly, then semi monthly, and finally weekly. 
It had a very large circulation for those days 
.tinl exerted great influence. Saur's greatest 
work, however, was the printing of the first 
Bible on American soil. Not the first German 
Bible, hut the first Bible of any kind, for the 
first Bible in the English language was not 
printed in America until forty years later. Saur's 
enterprise was really gigantic, for the type, 
specially cast for this work, had to be imported 
from Germany, and the facilities at Saur'- dis- 
posal were of a very limited kind. In addition, 
it was a great question whether the undertaking 
would pay, for the expenses were very large. But 
Saur succeeded, the Bible appeared in 174-'. had 
a large sale and several edition- had to be 
printed. The paper was furnished by another 
Pennsylvania German, William Rittenhouse, who 
had built the first paper mill in America. From 
now on German printing houses and new-papers 
increased rapidly; in 1753 Franklin stated that 
of the six printing houses in the province two 
were German, two English ami the other two 
half English and half German. Of the news 
papers founded in that period -everal are still 
in existence. 

But it is as a fanner that the Pennsylvania 
German excelled. Me did not. like hi- American 
brother of different origin, continually try to 
make new conquests, read] to give up the home 

for the hope of rinding a better one farther west. 

Me loved the -oil a- he loved hi- family. When 
he had found the -pot that suited him he stayed 

and cultivated it 'until he had changed the pri- 
meval forest into a veritable garden spot. The 
..il in Pennsylvania for farming purposes 
i- limestone and almost every acre of this soil 

i- -till in the hands of the descendants of Ger- 
man settlers. I hey farmed not for one harvest 
hut forever, thej did not dream of leaving the 
- the firsl Btrength of the soil 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 17 







had been exhausted. They carefully burned the 
trees they had felled to clear the land as well as 
the stumps and roots, and did not let them rot 
like other settlers ; in this way they enriched the 
soil and saved their ploughs. They introduced 
irrigation and treated their horses so well that 
they could do twice the work other farmers 
made them do. They built large and substan- 
tial barns, known to this day as "Swisser Barns," 
and they erected comfortable stone houses. The 
Pennsylvania farmer introduced horticulture and 
truck farming in America, and it is not sur- 
prising that he prospered and increased. From 
the neighborhood of Germantown the Germans 
spread over Montgomery, Berks and Lancaster 
counties ; they crossed the Susquehanna and set- 
tled York and Cumberland. Northampton, Dau- 
phin, Lehigh, Lebanon, Centre and Adams fol- 
lowed. Under Jost Hite they advanced into the 
Shenandoah valley and founded Frederick, Rock- 
ingham, Shenandoah and other counties in Vir- 
ginia. Others went to Ohio. Everywhere the 
Pennsylvania German became the pioneer of civ- 
ilization who cleared the forest and prepared the 
soil for the masses that were to follow him. 

At the beginning of the Revolution there were 
at least one hundred thousand Germans or chil- 
dren of German parents in Pennsylvania. John 
Fiske estimates that the descendants of the Eng- 
lish who emigrated to New England before 1640, 
number about fifteen millions. According to this 
estimate, there must be at the least five million 
descendants of the Pennsylvania Germans in the 
United States. There are certainly two millions 
of them in Pennsylvania alone. The others have 
spread all over the country. They are difficult 
to trace because their names have been changed 
long ago, in many cases so much that the orig- 
inal can hardly be discovered. It is comparatively 
easy to detect the German origin in Wanamaker, 
Pennypacker, Custer, Beaver, Hartranft, Keifer, 
Rodenbough, etc., but it becomes more difficult 
when the name has undergone several transfor- 
mations, as for instance Krehbiel to Krehbill, 
Grebill, Grabill and finally Graybill, or Krumm- 
bein to Krumbine and Grumbine, or Schnaebele 
to Snavely, Gebhard to Capehart, Herbach to 
Harbaugh or Gne'ge to Keneagy, and it is almost 
impossible to trace the descent if the names have 
been translated like Froehlich into Gay, or Klein 
into Little or Small. The radical changes have 
mostly been made by those families who went to 
other states ; of those remaining in Pennsylvania 
the larger part has retained names which show the 
German root and can be traced with comparative 
ease, except of course where the name has been 
translated into English. 

Nowhere else have the Germans remained to- 
gether in such compact masses as in Pennsyl- 

; 



vania, and nowhere else can, therefore, their in- 
fluence upon the formation of the character of 
the American people be better observed. They 
still retain their characteristics to a marked de- 
gree, the peculiar forms of the religious life, the 
habits and even the physical appearance of their 
forebears. Their language is still different from 
that of other parts of the population ; it is a 
composite of English and German words and 
forms, foreign to either and yet in many re- 
spects akin to both. It is wonderful how these 
people have preserved, at least in part, the lan- 
guage of their ancestors who settled in Pennsyl- 
vania more than two centuries ago, for they did 
not receive any additions to speak of which 
might have kept the memories of the Fatherland 
and its language green and fresh. Most of the 
immigration from the same districts that came 
in later periods remained in the cities or went 
to the West and Northwest. We find likewise the 
traits that distinguished the first settlers still in 
existence ; the strong desire for independence and 
the almost stubborn resistance against every fan- 
cied or real attempt to encroach upon their rights, 
the untiring industry, strongly marked honesty, 
frugality and the inclination to take life seriously. 
All these qualities have produced a conserva- 
tism which has frequently caused the statement 
that the Pennsylvania Germans were obstinate 
and self-willed but which withal has exerted a 
very beneficial influence. It has kept them and 
their offspring upon their farms and perhaps re- 
tarded the development of the region they in- 
habited in a certain sense ; at least their cities 
have not grown as rapidly as those of the West, 
but on the other hand the soil their ancestors 
conquered has not been given up and left 
unfilled because the young men became restless 
and went away to more distant regions, as has 
been the case in New England. The compact 
mass of the Germans in Pennsylvania still forms 
a reservoir from which the American people 
draw strength and conservatism, and it is still a 
great factor in the equalization of the many 
qualities brought here by immigrants from widely 
differing countries. The statement is justified 
that the often ridiculed and sometimes despised 
Pennsylvania Dutchman has been one of the 
most valuable factors in the development of the 
mighty republic that has arisen on the North 
American continent, and he deserves the fullest 
appreciation and gratitude. 

While the bulk of the German immigration of 
the period under consideration went to Pennsyl- 
vania and New York, it must not be supposed 
that these states alone received settlers from Ger- 
many. All through the South we find German 
names in old records and deeds. According to 
the Colonial Records of Virginia, a number of 



18 HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IX THE IWITKl) STATES 



the victims of the massacre of March 22, 1622, 
led by Chief Opechancanough, were undoul 
Germans. We know that the Salzburgers set- 
tled in Georgia in [734 and that a large body of 
immigrants from Switzerland arrived in South 
Carolina in 17.}-'. About the same time German 
Valley and Friesburg were founded in New 
Jersey and a German Roman-Catholic Church ex- 
in Maryland in 1758. liven in New England 



we find German settlements, for in 1740 Waldo- 
borough in Maim- was founded and about ten 
years later Leydensdorf in the same state, it- 
name indicating the sufferings the immigrants 
had tn undergo. But, as lias been stated, most 
of these groups have entirely disappeared among 
the English population, and none of them dif- 
fered enough from the great mass thai settled 
in Pennsylvania to deserve separate treatment. 



THE GERMANS DURING THE REVOLUTION 



We have seen that during colonial times the 
Germans were always found on the side of the 
common people and sturdily opposed all at- 
tempts of the aristocratic element to curtail the 
liberties granted by the crown, but they were 
alway> loyal to the Government. In the war 
against the French and the Indians the French 
had counted on the assistance of the Germans, 
especially of those in the Mohawk valley who 
had been so cruelly treated by the English, but 
they remained true to their Government. They 
had to pay dearly for it, for in November, 1757. 
a part] of Frenchmen and Indians, under Captain 
Belletre, appeared, burned all the houses and 
barns, killed or maimed the cattle, massacred the 
settlers, their women and children and carried 
many of them into captivity. In the following 
spring the attack was repeated, bul in the mean- 
time the settlers had erected a fort and defended 
their lives successfully under the leadership of 
Nicolaus Herckheimer, of whom we will hear 
more later on. Their houses ware, however, 
again burned to the ground. The Germans in 
Pennsylvania furnished many volunteers for the 
war. Of the officers of the provincial militia 
more than one third wen- Germans. Conrad 
Linger, commanded a battalion of 
whom two-thirds were Germans, and Nicholas 
•holt's regiment was composed of his 
countrymen entirely. Another regiment, cmn 
manded by General Bouquet, a Swiss whosi 
name was Straus, consisted entirely of German 
officers and nuii. Bui there is no doubt that the 
f defending life and home against a 
cruel and unrelenting foe had as much influence 

upon the position taken by the Germans as loy- 
alty. They had no h.ve for the English, nor 
had they any i it. Outside of Pennsyl- 

vania they had been badly treated wherever they 
settled, the promises made to them had been 
broken, and the to deprive them of their 

liberty as well as of the fruits of their industry 



had never ceased. So the great movement for 
liberty and for independence found them in a 
receptive mood and fully prepared. 

Another factor must he taken into considera- 
tion. The German immigrants and their children 
still loved their Fatherland. They had left it 
to escape oppression, persecution and tyranny, 
hut in their hearts lived the wish to see the 
Fatherland delivered from the conditions that 
made the German people so miserable. To see 
the great German Empire restored to its old 
power and importance was a dream they cher- 
ished. When they heard of the deeds of Fred- 
erick the Great of Prussia, when they read how 
he had taken a firm stand for religious liberty 
and had vanquished the princes and princelings 
who had oppressed them, their hearts went out 
to him. lie became immensely popular all 
through the German colonies. Taverns bearing 
his name were found in almost every village 
where Germans lived and his portr.ait had a place 
in every dwelling. They saw in him the great 
liberator, the unrelenting foe of oppression in 
every form, as indeed many Americans of his 
time did. The\ look inspiration from him and 
his deeds, and their yearning for freedom, their 
readiness to fight and if need lie to die for n be 
came stronger as they followed his triumphant 
career. Taking it all in all. no pan of the popu- 
lation of the colonies was more ready for the 
Revolution and for the complete separation of the 

colonies from England, than the Germans. 

When the call to arms was sounded the Ger 
mans were ready. They had long prepared for it 

and drilled in every township. Pastor rlelmuth 

of the Lutheran Church at Lancaster writes "ii 
February -'5, 1775. that the whole country was 

ready for war, that every man was armed and 

that the enthusiasm was indescribable. Even the 

ml MennoniteS, whose creed forbade 

them in hear arms, came forward and renounced 
their creed in this time of great emergency. It 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 19 



is a significant fact that the first company of 
militia to arrive at Cambridge in 1775, after the 
battle of Lexington, came from York County, 
Pa., and was composed entirely of Pennsylvania 
Germans. The commander was Captain Henry 
Miller and the company had marched five hun- 
dred miles to reach its destination. But Penn- 
sylvania did not stand alone ; from Georgia to the 
Mohawk valley every German settlement sent its 
young men to fight for liberty. One of the most 
dramatic incidents was furnished by Johann 
Peter Muhlenberg, the eldest son of Heinrich 
Melchior Muhlenberg, who has been mentioned 
as the organizer of the German Lutheran Church 
in America. Johann Peter had been sent to Ger- 
many to study theology but his fiery temperament 
chafed under the restrictions placed upon him. 
He ran away from the seminary at Halle where 
he had been sent by his father and apprenticed 
himself to a merchant at Lubeck. This life did 
not suit him any better and he listened willingly 
to the promises of fame and glory held out by 
one of the many English recruiting officers who 
plied their questionable trade in Germany. He 
became a private in a regiment of dragoons and 
soon earned the sobriquet "Devil Pete" by his 
recklessness and daring. But his regiment was 
sent to America and his father purchased his 
release. Johann Peter seemed to have quieted 
down ; at least he finished his studies, passed the 
examinations and became pastor of the German 
Lutheran Church at Woodstock, Va. But the 
change was only apparent and probably executed 
more to please the father than from inclination. 
The young minister spent more time in the for- 
ests and on the mountains bunting game than 
at church work and became a firm friend of 
George Washington and Patrick Henry. When 
the movement for independence began he entered 
into it with heart and soul and served as presi- 
dent of the Council of Safety and as member of 
the convention at Williamsburg which elected 
delegates for the first Continental Congress. Fi- 
nally, in January, 1776, he assembled his congre- 
gation and from the chancel told them that the 
time had arrived when every citizen must serve 
his country to the best of his ability; that he be- 
lieved he could do more in the field than in the 
church, and that for this reason he had accepted a 
commission as colonel to raise a German regiment 
and asked all men who could bear arms to fol- 
low him. With these words he threw off his 
priestly gown and stood before the congregation 
in full regimentals. He then left the chancel, 
took a position in front of the church doors and 
gave orders to sound the drums and swear in 
recruits. Lieutenant-colonel Baumann and Ma- 



jor Helffenstein stood at his side. A tremendous 
wave of enthusiasm swept over the multitude; 
fathers who were too old to go to the war 
pushed their sons forward and wives their hus- 
bands and before the day. closed three hundred 
men had enlisted. A few days later Muhlen- 
berg had a regiment of four hundred and fifty 
men, more than most regiments numbered. He 
did splendid service in Virginia, the Carolinas, 
Georgia, in the battles of the Brandywine and 
Germantown. At the end of the war he was 
made a major-general and served as vice-pres- 
ident of the Executive Council of Pennsylvania, 
did valiant work to induce the Pennsylvania Leg- 
islature to ratify the Federal Constitution, be- 
came a member of Congress, United States sen- 
ator and later, until his death in 1802, internal 
revenue collector at Philadelphia. 

How great the enthusiasm was among the Ger- 
mans is shown by an incident of almost hu- 
morous aspect. At Reading three companies of 
militia had been formed who drilled diligently. 
The old men of the town did not want to be 
left behind and formed another company to 
which nobody under forty years of age was ad- 
mitted. The commander was ninety-seven years 
old, had served forty years in the Prussian army 
and taken part in seventeen battles. The drum- 
mer was eighty-four years old. Whether this 
troop ever saw active service is not known. The 
German butchers guild of Philadelphia passed 
resolutions demanding independence for the colo- 
nies in 1774 before the question whether the 
colonies should separate from England had been 
decided in the affirmative. A splendid figure, 
worthy of being remembered, was the baker, 
Christoph Ludwig, at Philadelphia. He had been 
born in 1720 at Giessen in Germany and had 
learned his trade from his father. When he 
was seventeen he enlisted and fought with the 
Austrians against the Turks and later under the 
great Frederick against the Austrians. Then he 
became a sailor and passed several years of his 
life in the East Indies. In 1754 he settled in 
Philadelphia, started a bakery and amassed con- 
siderable wealth. When the Revolution broke 
out he was fifty-five years old, but he threw 
himself into the movement with the ardor of a 
young man. He served on almost all the Revo- 
lutionary committees and when the convention 
of 1776 proposed a popular subscription in order 
to raise money for the pui chase of arms, and 
when there was hesitation as to the advisability 
of such a step, Ludwig arose in his seat and 
said: "Mr. President, I am only a poor baker, 
but I am willing to start the list with two hun- 
dred pounds sterling." This action ensured the 



2u HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IX THE UNITED STATICS 



success of the undertaking. On May 5. 1777. Lud- 
wig was appointed baker-in-chief for the army. 
As such he showed his honesty by pledging him- 
self to furnish one hundred and thirty-five 
Is of bread for every hundred pounds of 
Hour, while hi- predecessors had given only one 
hundred pounds of bread. The army inspectors 
had nut known, though the bakers probably 
knew, that the weigh! of the moisture contained 
in the bread must be deducted Washington ap- 
preciated Ludwig's services highly and never 
failed to receive him when he came to Philadel- 
phia; in fact, the lowly baker was repeatedly in- 
vited to the great man's table. 

One of the most heroic figures of the war of 
the Revolution was Nicolaus Herckheimer, who 
has already been mentioned as the leader of the 
German settlers in the Mohawk valley during 
the French War. These settlements formed the 
frontier between New York and the Indian ter- 
ritory and a wall which protected the white in- 
habitants of the colony against the attacks of 
the savages. The English authorities did not 
take great pains to help the settlers in their 
with the Indians, in fact they let them shift 
for themselves as we have seen. The Germans 
of the valley of the Mohawk, therefore, formed 
four companies of riflemen who had to hold 
themselves ready at all times to defend the set- 
tlements against the Indians. Herckheimer was 
their commander. When the Revolution broke out 
the whole population of that section hailed it 
with delight and offered to serve against the 
English Government. Herckheimer was appointed 
commander of the militia of western Xew York 
with tlu- title of brigadier general, by the con- 
vention which had taken charge of the colony. 
At first it did not seem a- if Herckheimer would 
have to do much more than protect the border 
against Indian raids, but it developed soon that 
In- was distined to plaj a very important role in 
the war for liberty. 

In the summer of 1777 General Bourgoyne 

Canada with a lar^e army to reach 

Xew York by way of Lake Champlain and Lake 

\' tin- same time Admiral Howe was in 

and around Yew York with another lar^e army. 

The presumption was natural that an attempt 

would In- made to unite thes ( - two armies. Now 

Washington knew very well that he cuild never 

d if he did not prevent the union of the 

British forces, not only in this case but during 

the entire war. All his manceuvers and the 

ion "f all his positions and winter i 
always done with one object in view: to 
be able at any time to strike at an enemy advan- 
cing against the line of the upper Hudson, 



whether he came from the seacoast or from Can- 
ada. He was well aware of the fact that his 
cause was List if two hostile armies operating 
from those points could unite and thus divide 
the colonies into two halves unable to communi- 
cate with each other. This was exactly what 
Bourgoyne had planned and Washington ex- 
pected. Neither could know that Howe would 
leave Xew York and go to Philadelphia instead 
of pushing north to join Bourgoyne. But both 
knew that the question whether the army coming 
from Canada could reach the valley of the lower 
Hudson might decide the war. Washington had 
sent his best generals and troops to stop Bour- 
goyne's advance, but the Englishman had so far 
overcome all resistance. He had reached Fort 
Edward and waited there for news from Howe. 
When this failed to arrive he determined to ad- 
vance as soon as his right wing under General 
St. Leger would reach him. St. Leger had started 
from Montreal and, landing at Oswego, had 
reached the portage from Lake Oneida to the 
Mohawk and thereby the direct and easy road 
to Albany. Had he been allowed to continue his 
march he would have protected Bourgoyne's right 
flank successfully, at the same time threatening 
the left flank of the American army. But at 
the upper Mohawk Fort Stanwix had been 
erected and this was held by seven hundred 
Americans under Colonel Gansevoort. At the 
beginning of August St. Leger appeared before 
the fort with seven hundred regulars and over 
one thousand Indians led by Chief Josef Brant. 
He asked Gansevoort to surrender but the 
American refused, he and his men knowing the 
importance of holding their position as long as 
possible. The very next day they received the 
welcome news that Herckheimer with the Ger- 
man militia was on the way to succor them. He 
had collected his force of four battalions, all to- 
gether eighl hundred men. as soon as he had 
hi aid of St. Leger's approach. On the evening 
of AngUSl fifth, he reached the point where the 
Oriska joins the Mohawk River and the 
presenl village of Oriskany is situated. 
From here he sent messengers to Fort 
Stanwix and decided to advance as soon 
as he knew that Gansevoort could sup- 
port him by a simultaneous attack upon the ene- 
my. This prudent and wise determination did, 

no', however, please the younger and less expe 
rienced element among his command. They 
wanted to attack in the early morning regard- 
less "f the dangers connected with a fighl against 
large numbers and in a dense forest where the 
enemy could nol 1" Seen. Herckheimer resisted 
their urging as long as he could, but when some 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 21 



of the rashest among them said he had become 
afraid of the Indians in his old age, he reluct- 
antly consented to the advance. Events unfor- 
tunately proved that his judgment had been cor- 
rect. After the long and slim column had en- 
tered the forest on a narrow path it was sud- 
denly beset on all sides by the Indians assisted 
by a detachment of regulars. Herckheimer or- 
dered his men to hide behind the trees and suc- 
ceeded in getting them together in some kind 
of order. A short hand-to-hand fight convinced 
the Indians that victory could not be won as 
easily as they had believed. Herckheimer was 
wounded by a shot through the knee that shat- 
tered his leg. He ordered his men to place him 
on a saddle under a large tree and from this 
position encouraged them and gave his orders as 
if nothing had happened to him. About noon a 
thunderstorm with a heavy fall of rain inter- 
rupted the bloody work for some time and gave 
Herckheimer the opportunity to place his men in 
a large circle and close together. He also gave 
orders that two men should be behind each tree 
because the Indians had waited until a volunteer 
had fired his rifle when they jumped on him and 
scalped him. His men obeyed him willingly now. 
Late in the afternoon heavy firing was heard 
from the direction of Fort Stanwix. The gar- 
rison had made a sortie and was on its way to 
join Herckheimer. The enemy, already discour- 
aged by the strong resistance of the Germans, 
fled precipitately. The day was won and Herck- 
heimer's judgment was vindicated. But a high 
price had been paid. Two hundred of the militia- 
men were either dead or so severely wounded 
that they could not be removed. Many more had 
been captured by the Indians. Whole families 
were wiped out. Nine members of the Schell 
family were left on the battlefield, two of the 
Wohlleben, several Kast, Demuth, Hess, Kau- 
mann, Vetter, Orendorff, etc. Herckheimer him- 
self lived but a few days longer; he did receive 
the congratulations General Schuyler sent him 
but died soon after. The city of Herkimer was 
named after him and the state of New York 
erected a monument in his honor. He had ren- 
dered the American cause a service, the value 
of which can hardly be estimated high enough. 
Oriskany was the first successful engagement in 
the efforts to resist the advance of Bourgoyne; 
Herckheimer's victory discouraged the British 
troops and the Indians who left their allies in 
large numbers, and made it possible for Gates 
to advance against Bourgoyne without running 
the danger of being attacked in flank and rear. 
The surrender at Saratoga would have been im-' 
possible without the victory of Oriskany; it is 



even a question whether Bourgoyne could have 
been prevented from reaching New York. Wash- 
ington himself said that Herckheimer brought 
about a change in the situation in the northwest 
when it seemed hopelessly dark, and when every 
quality of leadership seemed to be absent. And 
he added : "General Herckheimer served and gave 
his life to his country because he loved it, and 
not because he desired preferment, fame or 
riches." 

The most prominent German in the War of the 
Revolution was, without question, Friedrich Wil- 
helm von Steuben. We are, indeed, justified 
when we say that his services to Washington and 
the American cause were of greater importance 
and value than those of any other foreigner 
serving in the American army, not excepting 
General Lafayette. As an individual Steuben did 
far better and more valuable work than the 
Frenchman, whose importance was based on the 
fact that he represented a whole nation and 
brought the aid and enormously valuable assist- 
ance of the French Government. Lafayette be- 
came the exponent of all that France did for 
the United States, and upon him were showered 
the expressions of the gratitude the American 
people justly felt for his country. A dashing 
figure, of undaunted courage, though lacking in 
experience, with many amiable traits which were 
more prominent than during the later years of 
his life, he fully deserved the love and admira- 
tion extended to him. But for the practical 
services he rendered as an individual we look 
in vain in the annals of the great struggle. Steu- 
ben played an entirely different part. He had 
very little opportunity to show his ability as a 
general in the field, he did not look for glory 
or admiration but worked hard and unceasingly 
and found contentment and happiness in strict 
and unremitting devotion to duty. Thus it came 
about, as it is always in this world, that La- 
fayette became a popular hero and received in- 
numerable proofs of the appreciation felt for him 
while Steuben had to wait many years before 
Congress gave him a pension sufficient to pass 
his remaining years in peace and comfort, and 
is all but forgotten by the American people. 

Friedrich Wilhelm August von Steuben was 
the son of an officer who had served in the Rus- 
sian and the Prussian armies. Hardly seventeen 
years old, the son entered the army of the Great 
Frederick in 1847, soon after the close of the sec- 
ond war with Austria. When the Seven Years' 
War broke out, Steuben was first lieutenant, and 
took part in the battles of Prague and Rossbach. 
During the year 1758 he served as volunteer in 
General von Mayr's Free Corps, one of those 



22 HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE I'XITED STATES 



detachments which were so frequent in former 
They did not belong to the regular army, 
acted independently and were meant to harass 
the enemy in his flank and rear by appearing sud- 
denly at the most unexpected places and disap- 
pearing again as quickly. After the death of his 
commander he was appointed adjutant-general to 
General von Huelscn, took part in the battles of 
Kunersdorf and Liegnitz and the operations 
against the Russians, was taken prisoner by them 
but soon set free. The close of the war found 
him an aide-de-camp to the King and quarter- 

r general <>f the army. For a time he had 
commanded a regiment hut the King was forced 
to economize after peace had been declared and, 
like many other officers. Steuben was reduced to 
the rank of captain. This and other reasons 
which have never been fully explained, induced 
him to resign his commission, although the King 
had given him many proofs of his favor. Dur- 
ing the next ten years Steuben served as court 
marshal to the Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechin- 
gen and after that for three years in a similar 
capacity to the Margrave of Baden. But his 
ambition could not be satisfied by the quiet life 
at one of the many small German courts. He 
traveled extensively and made repeated efforts to 
procure a commission in the Austrian army. In 
this he did not succeed and made up his mind 
to go to England. On his way there he visited 
Paris and did not want to let the occasion pass 
without calling on an old friend, the French 
minister of war, Count St. Germain. The Count 
immediately tried to persuade him to go to 
America and join the Colonial army. After much 

'ion— which was justified, for Paris was 
full of French and other officers who had gone 

•I erica with letters of recommendation and 
even promises from the American agents, but 
had been refused commissions ami had returned 
pennile Steuben derided to follow St. Ger- 
main's advice, i n spite of the fact that the Amer- 
ican agents, Deane and Franklin, refused to pay 
even his traveling Franklin said he 

would try to induce Con| give to Steuben 

a lai . [ land, hut this promise seemed so 

■il.en declined it and preferi 
offer his service-, without stipulating any reward, 
his arrival at Boston lie wrote letters to 
the I ami to General Washington in 

which he s.-,i(l that he had given up all his offices 
and his income in order to gain the honor, if 
need he with his blood, to become one of tl 
fender~ of liberty. He asked for commissions 
for himself and hi- companions, hut stated ex- 

ly that hi' expected no reward of any kind 



until he had shown by his services that he had 
earned it. 

He arrived at an opportune moment. Wash 
ington was in camp at Valley Forge with an 
army that lacked practically everything neces- 
sary for active warfare. It was the darkest 
time of the whole war. The American army had 
neither sufficient clothing, nor ammunition, nor 
ions. It had dwindled to five thousand 
men, many of whom were sick, insufficiently clad 
or without arms. The discipline was lax and 
there was nothing like uniformity in drill and 
tactics. Each colonel drilled his regiment in the 
way he found best, and quite a number of them 
possessed little or no knowledge of military 
science. After a few conversations with Steuben, 
Washington was convinced that he had found in 
him the man for the hour. He ordered him to 
take temporary charge of the duties of the in- 
spector-general, a very wise move, because it did 
not arouse the natural jealousy of the American 
officers which a permanent appointment would 
have done. Steuben took charge immediately, 
drew up rules and regulations and a complete 
military code, and compelled the regimental com- 
manders to interest themselves in their men. He 
not only supervised the drill, but formed a corps 
of one hundred and twenty nun under the pre- 
text that a special bodyguard for the general-in- 
chief was necessary. This corps he drilled in 
person and its proficiency soon aroused the am- 
bition of every colonel to show equal results with 
his men. This was exactly what Steuben had 
intended and expected. In his diary he describes 
at length tlie methods he pursued and one can- 
not withhold the greatest admiration from the 
man who, without any knowledge of the con- 
ditions and the language of the country, immedi- 
ately perceived how he hail to proceed, what 
pan- of the European systems could he adopted 
and how this army, officers as well as men, had 
to lie handled in order to make it a homogene- 
ous and effective body that could meet the well- 
drilled Britishers in compact formation on their 
ow n ground. 

The results of Steuben's work were 
quickly. < >n April 30, 177N. a little more than 
six weeks after the German had begun to drill 
the army, Washington asked Congress to give 

him a commission. In his letter he said: "II 
would lie an injustice it' I were to continue leav- 
ing the services of Baron von Steuben unmen- 
tioned. Mis ability ami his military accomplish- 
. as well as the untiring energy which he 

liown since he entered our service, compel 
me to state that he is a distinct gain for our 
army, and I recommend him to the special at- 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 23 



tention of Congress." Steuben was accordingly 
appointed major-general and inspector-general of 
the army. 

But the great test was yet to come ; the question 
had to be decided how Steuben's reforms would 
influence the action of the troops under the fire 
of the enemy. He had not long to wait. On May 
20, 1778, Lafayette had made a demonstration 
against the enemy and advanced a little too far. 
When Washington saw that Lafayette was in 
danger of being cut off he gave orders to ad- 
vance in force. Within less than fifteen minutes 
the whole army was in position. This was a 
feat never before thought even possible. Steu- 
ben's work had accomplished it. But a still bet- 
ter demonstration of the value of his services 
was soon to be given. On June twenty-eighth the 
battle of Monmouth was fought. Although most of 
his generals, especially Charles Lee, advised 
against it, Washington decided to attack the 
British army under Clinton. He alone was con- 
fident that his army was now in a condition to 
cope with a well-drilled and disciplined body of 
troops. The result vindicated his conviction. 
When the advance guard under Lee had been 
repulsed and its retreat began to assume the pro- 
portions of a complete rout, Washington ordered 
Steuben to collect the fleeing soldiers and to re- 
store them to order. Not only did Steuben suc- 
ceed in this but all the other troops remained 
firm and were not in the least influenced by the 
spectacle Lee's detachment offered. This would 
not have been possible before the army had been 
reorganized by Steuben ; the fleeing advance 
guard would have carried the others along and 
the engagement would have been lost. Washing- 
ton acknowledged freely that the credit for the 
victory at Monmouth had to be ascribed to Steu- 
ben, in spite of the fact that the German had 
not been actively engaged in the battle itself. 
Even Alexander Hamilton, not a friend of Gen- 
eral Steuben at that time, declared that he had 
been greatly surprised by the ease with which 
the fleeing regiments were re-formed and the 
others kept in good order, and added that at that 
moment only he had grasped the value of disci- 
pline and military training. One year later an- 
other illustration of the excellence of Steuben's 
methods was furnished, when the American 
troops stormed Stony Point at the point of the 
bayonet without firing a single shot. When he 
began his work, the bayonet was looked upon 
with contempt by the Americans; like all insuf- 
ficiently drilled troops they wanted to shoot as 
soon as they saw the enemy. He had taught 
them to remain cool and collected under the 



enemy's fire, and after Stony Point they acknowl- 
edged freely that his views were right. 

We cannot follow General Steuben's career 
during the entire war. He served as inspector- 
general, as chief of the general staff and for 
some time in the South. He was in command 
in the trenches before Yorktown when Corn- 
wallis offered to surrender. During all these 
years he had worked hard and used what time 
he could spare to perfecting the rules and regu- 
lations for the organization of the American 
army in war and peace. It was Steuben who first 
proposed the foundation of a military academy 
and when Congress erected the academy at West 
Point his plans were used to a great extent. 
When General Lincoln resigned as Secretary of 
War in 1783 nobody doubted that Steuben would 
be appointed his successor. His ability as well 
as his unselfish devotion to his new country had 
been sufficiently proven. But Congress selected 
General Knox who, though brave and an able 
commander, had never shown any special fitness 
for this office, on the absurd plea that so im- 
portant a place should not be given to a man 
not born in America. A few months later Steu- 
ben resigned his commission, and the thanks of 
Congress were voted to him, coupled with the 
promise that his valuable services would be fit- 
tingly rewarded. Congress also gave him a 
sword. This he received three years later, but 
he had to wait seven years before the pension 
promised to him was granted, in spite of the 
fact that Washington and others urged Congress 
to action. All of Steuben's efforts to get at least 
an accounting and reimbursement for the sums 
he had expended out of his own pocket were 
unsuccessful. For years he had to live in bitter 
poverty, in a cheap boarding house in New York, 
and without the assistance of some personal 
friends he might have starved. In 1790 Con- 
gress was at last induced to grant him a pension 
of $2,500 per annum. Several states had given 
him tracts of land, among them New Jersey, 
which offered him the confiscated possessions of 
a Tory named John Zabriskie. When, however, 
Steuben heard that Zabriskie was penniless, he 
transferred the gift to him. He accepted a quar- 
ter section of sixteen thousand acres from the 
state of New York near Utica. Here he erected 
a modest house, gave some of his land to for- 
mer officers and rented another part to colonists. 
Giving considerable attention to agriculture, he 
lived there during the summer and passed his 
winters in New York City. He died on No- 
vember 28, 1794. The cities of Albany and New 
York had made him an honorary citizen and he 



24 HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 



had been appointed :i regent of the University 
of the : i New York. 

Another German served as general in Wash- 
-.'- army, Johann Kalb, or, as he called 
himself, Baron Kan de Kalb. But he was more 
of a Frenchman than a German. He had been 
born in Germany, it is true, but emigrated to 
France when hardly more than a boy. His work 
as uaiicr did not please him and he decided to 
enlist, but as he did not care to servo as private 
he assumed the predicate of nobility and secured 
a commission as lieutenant in the regiment I. w 
endal. De Kalli was a good soldier and fought 
in all the campaigns of the French army from 
1743 to 17'M. He then resigned and married the 
daughter of a wealthy merchant. He must have 
enjoyed the confidence of the French Government 
to a high degree for when the first news arrived 
that the British colonies in America were dis- 
satisfied with, and might revolt against, English 
rule, de Kalb was sent to America to inves- 

the situation. On his return he reported 
that thing- were not ripe yet. hut would he in 
a few years. When the Revolution hroke out de 
Kalh went to America in the company of La- 
He was made a major-general and ren- 
dered valuable services. After heroic efforts 
to save the troops under his command from an- 
nihilation by .'in enemy many times stronger, he 
was killed in the battle of Camden, S.C., on 
August 10, [780. 

This narrative would not be complete without 
mention of a picturesque figure that has become 
immortal under the name of Molly Pitcher. It 
seems almosl an irony "t' fate that great gen- 
eral- should have been forgotten because they 
were not bom on American soil, while this sim- 
ple woman, also of German birth, is still re- 
membered, and this only because the name the 
soldiers gave her induced people t.i believe that 
she was an American. Her real name was Maria 
Ludwig and she was in the service of Dr. Irvine 
of Philadelphia. When she left hi- service she 
married Wilhelm Heiss. lb- enlisted in the ar- 
tillery when Dr. Irvine became colonel of the 

1 Pennsylvania Infantry. Hi- wife went 
with him. for the soldiers, nursed the 

•id the wounded, and, during the frequent 
engagements, carried water to the tiring line in 
a large pitcher. In this way she earned the 

name under which history know- her. In the 

battle of Monmouth the battery to which Heiss 

belonged suffered severely from the British fire. 

of the men, including Molly's husband, had 

been Wollllded .'Hid tile fe-t ShOWed 

weakening. Thereupon the courageous woman 
sprang forward, grasped the rammer and started 



to load a gun. The spirits of the soldier- re- 
vived at this Spectacle, they gave three cheers 
for Molly Pitcher, redoubled their efforts and 

1 the British to retire. It is reported that 
llei--. whose wounds were not serious, was made 

■ am by Washington on the spot. 

Two more names must be mentioned, not of 
warriors, but of men whose services were of 
great value to the young nation in the hour of 
its greate-t need. One of them is Friedrich 
August Muhlenberg, a brother of the Reverend 
and General Johann Peter. He wa- also a min- 
ister of the gospel, but soon exchanged the chan- 
cel for the political platform. Of commanding 
ability, he was a member of the Continental Con- 
gress, president of the Pennsylvania convention 
which ratified the Constitution of the United 
States, Speaker of the Pennsylvania Legislature, 
and Speaker of the first and second United States 
Congress under Washington's administration. The 
other is Michael Hillegass, who was treasurer 
of the Continental Congress. 

Enough has been said to show that the Ger- 
mans did their full part — and perhaps more — to 
win independence for this country. They did 
then, as always afterward, prove their loyalty 
and devotion, their trustworthiness and their 
righl to receive full and complete justice. If 
this was not, and is not now, given to them, 
they do not complain but find solace in the con- 
sciousness that they are doing their duty and do 
not require praise from others. 

The history of this period would not be com- 
plete if we did not mention the Hessians, as the 
German troops fighting with the British army 
were generally called in America. They were 
by no means all Hessians but came from several 
of the small German principalities. It would be 
entirely wrong to draw from their presence the 
conclusion that the German people were in sym- 
pathy with England. These troops were sold by 
their ruler- for cash, and compelled to tight for 
a cause which did not interest them in the least 
They had no choice, and even the princes who 
-old them cannot be called allies of Great Britain. 
They were simply heartless tyrants who gave 
their helpless subjects to the highe-t bidder. If 

the American colonies had been willing and able 
1.1 pa\ a better price there is no doubt that the 
Hessians would have been sold to them. These 

soldiers interest us because a g lly number of 

them remained in America after peace had been 

concluded. Thej were loyal and fought bravely 

whenever called upon, but naturally felt no en- 

thusiasm. When they were captured by the Amer- 

thej considered that their duty wa- done 
and did not need very close watching as a rule. 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 25 



Many of the prisoners were given into the cus- 
tody of German farmers for whom they worked 
willingly and with whom they felt quite at home. 
There were so many of them that at one time 
the Congress seriously considered the advisa- 
bility of forming a regiment composed of Hes- 
sians, for quite a number had taken such a liking 
to their new-found friends that they were willing 
to take up arms for them. The project was, 
however, abandoned. But when peace came not 
all the Hessians who had been brought to Amer- 



ica returned. According to very conservative es- 
timates at least five thousand of them remained. 
Some of them had intermarried with the families 
of German settlers, others had become used to 
the new country, and many did not care to go 
back to conditions that had become distasteful 
to them after they had learned to appreciate re- 
ligious and political liberty. They settled mostly 
among the Germans in Pennsylvania, New York 
and the neighboring states. No distinct traces 
of them have remained. 



FROM THE REVOLUTION TO THE YEAR 1848 



After the Revolution a period set in during 
which comparatively few Germans came to the 
United States. The French revolution and the 
Napoleonic wars acted as preventatives to emi- 
gration. This may appear contradictory at the 
first glance because, as a rule, troublous times 
are apt to drive people to seek new homes. It 
is, however, quite natural. The events that led 
to the French revolution filled the German people 
with a new hope. The belief that absolutism, re- 
strictions and serfdom would be done away with, 
became general. Why go to foreign shores if 
the happiness that might be found there was al- 
most certain to arrive at home? And after the 
long wars had broken out the state needed every 
able bodied citizen at home, while at the same 
time the ports of the Continent of Europe were 
closed to navigation and the seas were no longer 
highways of commerce, but the scene of never- 
ending strife between France and England, mak- 
ing it difficult and perilous for merchant vessels 
to cross the ocean. It is true that German im- 
migration never ceased completely, but it was not 
numerous enough to make a strong impression 
nor even to strengthen the already existing Ger- 
man settlements sufficiently to prevent their 
Americanization by slow but sure steps. Thus 
for nearly forty years the German element in the 
United States remained stationary as far as the 
number of newcomers was concerned. 

But the Germans remained by no means idle. 
They continued to spread in the way we have 
indicated and carried their characteristics into 
new regions. They took part in the conquest of 
the great western territory that had been pur- 
chased from the French Government. There 
were, in fact, many Germans among the bold 
spirits who forced their way through primeval 
forest and over pathless mountains with the firm 
purpose to extend the frontier of the colonies 



farther toward the setting sun. Their names 
have been forgotten, with few exceptions, but it 
is known that the large majority of the settlers 
who followed in the footsteps of the conquerors 
and advanced along the banks of the Ohio River, 
making Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana habitable, 
were of German blood. They also did a large 
share of the winning of Tennessee. Here, as 
everywhere, and at all times, the German settler 
did the real work. He did not look for fame 
or glory, he did not seek adventures and the 
spoils of war and the chase, but he cleared the 
soil and tilled it until it was changed into fer- 
tile fields and gardens. Valuable as the pio- 
neer's work was, his methods could never have 
opened the land to civilization. His log cabin 
served him more as a place of retreat in times 
of need than as a permanent home, while the 
German immediately began to produce and to 
improve, preparing the country for peaceful and 
permanent habitation by the millions who were 
to follow soon. All during this period the Ger- 
man proved his value for the land of his adop- 
tion and never ceased to be one of the most im- 
portant factors in its development. 

The Napoleonic wars had hardly ended when 
the immigration from Germany began to increase 
again. The great bulk consisted, as before, of 
peasants who came to find new homes on virgin 
soil. But withal a great change was discernible, 
for there arrived also a large number of men of 
the highest accomplishments and education, not 
as leaders of the masses or with them, but on 
their own accord. Again it was persecution that 
drove them from the Fatherland. They had to 
go because they had been foolish enough to be- 
lieve that the German people did not rise against 
the great Napoleon for the sole reason of re- 
placing their princes and princelings upon the 
thrones the conqueror had taken away from them. 



26 



HlSToRV OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IX Till- I WIT ED STATICS 



They h;i<l really believed that these princes 
some little gratitude to the people and should 

nize the fact that they should be given some 
part in the government. They were mistaken; 
the prince- were determined to continue their rule 
of absolutism, and persecuted relentlessly every- 
body who dared to disagree with them. Thus po- 
litical persecution, in place of the religious per- 
secution of former year-, drove untold thousands 
of the very best and ablest Germans across the 
Atlantic. These political refugees gave the Ger- 
man immigration, beginning about 1818, its pecu- 
liar character; the movement lasted until well in- 
to the second half of the Nineteenth Century, but 
may be divided into two periods, the first one 
extending until the German revolution of 1848, 
during which it was rather limited as to num- 

and the second one comprising the arrival 
of the revolutionists in large masses. There is 
another distinction which ha- not been taken note 
of by historians generally. The Germans arriv- 
ing after the revolutionary movement had failed 

united by one distinct idea thai had already 
been transformed into action. Their object may 
be called visionary, unclear and premature, but 
it had crystallized in the desire to unite the Ger- 
man nation under a liberal, preferably a repub 
lican government. Between the Xapoleonic wars 
and the revolution Germany passed through a 

I of romanticism which filled a large part 
of the youth of the German people with an in- 
distinct longing for something, the nature -1 
which they did not understand and really did 
n..t wish to know. Thus many came to America 
who were searching for things unknown and had 
no other reason to expect that they would find 
them here but that they did not know anything 
of the country. Among them was the poet, Ni- 
kolaus Lenau, who expected to find in An 

!ily human perfection but everything else he 
was yearning for. lb- returned to Europe 
a short -'ay, disappointed and embittered. Many 
other- were ui.t so fortunate, and thousands who 
did not know why they had left their homes 
perished in misery. In the -am rj be- 

long, though different in character, the differ- 
, „• .vi, n • "id colonies of < ierman no- 

blemen who wen- planned to bring to life again 
the conditions under which knighthood flourished 
in the Middle I ' to nothing, 

though some led to the establishment of im 

as New Braunfels 
in Texas The romanticism has exercised no in 
fluence upon the American people, and this could 
not have been expected ' ponents did 

neither find a lil nor were they 

enough to make converts to their ideas. In this 



respect the year [848 forms a dividing line, be- 
cause by that time the aimless dreaming had 
Keen replaced by a frequently extravagant and 
highly imaginative but withal healthy idealism, 

which strove for concrete obji 

It is our main purpose, however, to trace the 
influence that has been exerted by German im- 
migrants upon the development of the American 
people. And this influence was quite strong dur- 
ing the period under consideration by the 
political refugees. Liberal ideas had not yet 
taken root in the masses of the German people 
which were busy healing the wounds the long 
wars had left behind through hard work. The 
universities were then, as always, the centers 
from which the spirit of liberty began to spread 
over the country. The princes and their hirelings 
knew this and persecuted relentlessly professors 
and students who were suspected of liberal lean- 
ings. Thousands of the noblest and best spirits 
were compelled to flee in order to escape im- 
prisonment or death. For the first time men 
who had already won renown in the field of let- 
ters and in science or who had prepared them- 
selves for such careers came to America in large 
numbers. Their influence made itself felt. The 
German press which had survived the long inter- 
val but showed few signs of high ideals and 
rather catered to mediocrity, entered upon a new 
period of healthful activity. Bookstores were es- 
tablished where the newest and best German 
books could be bought. New schools were 
founded and old ones remodeled. In short, the 
new German immigration did not longer place its 
material welfare at the head of it- de-ires and 
did not satisfy its hunger for spiritual nourish- 
ment with what religion could give but it culti- 
vated the sciences, letters, music and the fine 
arts. Of the large number of eminent men who 
emigrated during this period only a few can be 
mentioned, and if their prominence is unques- 
tioned, they were Inn typical of the many who 
cannot be named lure. 

The be-t known of all of them is Franz Lieber, 
bom in [798 at Berlin. Hardly more than a 
boy he fought against Napoleon at Ligny and 

Waterloo and later Studied law. The active part 

ook in the movement for political liberty 
caused his banishment from Prussia, and after 
a -hort stay at Jena he went to Greece to take 
part in the war For freedom. There he found 
so little of the spiril he had expected that he 

[•(■turned to Prussia, where he was immediately 

arrested and thrown into prison. His relatives 
succeeded after a while in procuring his release, 
but he was ordered to leave Germany. After 
a few years in England, where he eked out a 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 27 



miserable existence with literary work, he came 
to America in 1827. Here he started a swim- 
ming school and later on translated a German 
encyclopaedia into English. This occupation 
brought him into contact with many prominent 
men. His gifts and his knowledge were soon 
universally recognized. When Girard College in 
Philadelphia was founded the German Lieber 
was chosen to prepare the course of instruction. 
In 1835 ne was called to the University of South 
Carolina as Professor of History and Internation- 
al Law. There he remained until 1851. He left 
because he could not and would not remain 
quiet in the conflict that began to separate the 
North and the South. It was well known that 
Lieber was bitterly opposed to slaver}', but he 
might have retained his position if he had kept 
quiet. His conscience did not allow this, and 
on July 4, 1851, he delivered his celebrated "Ad- 
dress on Secession" which has become a classic. 
He was- immediately discharged and went to 
New York. After a few years of rest he be- 
came Professor of History, International Law 
and Political Economy at Columbia College. At 
the outbreak of the Civil War Lieber was too 
old to fight, but placed his services at the dis- 
posal of President Lincoln. In many speeches 
and pamphlets he argued for the cause. Fol- 
lowing the wish of General Halleck he prepared 
the manual for the conduct of the army in times 
of war, and during the entire war he was con- 
stantly consulted by the President on questions 
of international law and the laws of war. He 
was recognized as an authority on such ques- 
tions by the whole world and several of his 
books have become standard works, especially 
those on "Political Ethics" and on "Civil Liberty 
and Self-Government." 

Karl Follen was not as fortunate as Lieber. 
He also had taken part in the wars against the 
French Emperor, had studied and later taught 
law at German universities. Of an inflammable 
temperament, with almost fanatical love for lib- 
erty, he threw himself into the agitation for 
political freedom with all the ardor of a born 
poet. His songs and his speeches aroused the 
enthusiasm of teachers and students. When the 
Russian Kotzebue was killed by the German 
student Sand, the fact that Follen belonged to 
the same society as the murderer gave the Gov- 
ernment the welcome opportunity to ordef the 
arrest of the young professor. He fled in time, 
for in the event of his capture he would have 
been condemned to death. In Switzerland he 
found a refuge but only for a short space of 
time, for the German Government demanded his 
extradition. Follen fled to America in 1824 and 



was fortunate enough to meet Lafayette, with 
whom he had become acquainted in Paris. 
Through his assistance he secured employment 
as teacher of German at Harvard University. 
Pollen's individuality made a deep impression ; 
before many months had elapsed he was sur- 
rounded by a large circle of admirers, composed 
not of students alone, but of men who repre- 
sented all that was best and highest in the life 
of the nation. Before the term for which he had 
been engaged was ended — Follen in the mean- 
time had secured complete mastership of the 
English language — a chair as Professor of the 
German Language and Literature was created for 
him. But his love of liberty drove him away 
as it had done once before. The movement for 
the abolition of slavery could not leave a Follen 
uninterested. With fiery eloquence did he rep- 
resent the Anti-Slavery Society before the Mas- 
sachusetts Legislature and on other occasions. 
But the time was not ripe for the sentiments he 
so ably preached, and when the term of his pro- 
fessorship had elapsed he was not reappointed. 
Follen now became a minister of the Unitarian 
church to which he belonged, but died, at the be- 
ginning of a splendid career in his new field, 
at the burning of the steamship Lexington in 
1840, twice a martyr for liberty and freedom of 
thought and speech. 

Dr. Karl Beck had come to America with 
Follen and for the same reasons. He first taught 
school at Northampton, N.H., established a school 
at Philipstown and finally was called to Harvard 
as Professor of Latin. There he remained for 
more than twenty years. Friedrich August Sei- 
densticker and his son Oswald came in 1845, 
when the father, after having been kept in prison 
for many years, was pardoned on condition 
that he would leave Germany. Oswald Seiden- 
sticker became one of the most valuable his- 
torians of the German-Americans. Beginning 
with 1833 quite a number of Germans with 
similar antecedents settled in the neighborhood 
of Belleville in Illinois. They tried farming and 
succeeded in a measure, some more and some 
less. Unused to the spectacle of seeing men of 
superior education engage in this occupation, the 
people called them "Latin Farmers." Quite a 
number of them distinguished themselves. Georg 
Bunsen introduced the Pestalozzi system of edu- 
cation into the United States ; Julius Hilgard 
became Chief of the United States Coast Survey 
and his brother Eugene, Professor of Chemistry 
in the Smithsonian Institute. Both were acknowl- 
edged authorities in their respective fields. The 
creator of the Bureau of the Coast Survey and 



28 HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE I'XITED STATES 



rst superintendent was another German, 
Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler. 

There were in fact many practical men among 
t ] i < » - c- w h. > came here before [848. The greal 
Johann August Roebling lia<l left Germany to 
join a communistic colony, but soon became tired 
of it and took up his profession a-- engineer. 
He built the bridges over the Monongahela at 

urg, over the Niagara, the bridge connect- 
ing Cincinnati with Covington and the Brook- 
lyn Bridge. During this period Germans entered 
the ranks of the great American merchant- and 
hanker-. Johann Jakob Astor, the son of a poor 
butcher at Waldorf near Heidelberg, became one 
of the richest men of the country and was the 
first one to hoist the American flag at the shore 
of the Pacific Ocean, at Astoria. The second 
time the Star- and Stripes were raised over the 

of the Pacific, a German was again re- 



sponsible for it, Johann August Sutter, born in 
Baden in 1H03, and he succeeded in winning the 
territory he had taken possession of for the 
United States, while Astor had failed. August 
Belmont came to New York in [837 from Frank- 
furt. Many other commercial enterprises were 
started by German-, and not a few of them are 
still in existence. In fact, in every branch of 
human activity the German immigrants began 
to appear in the front rank. 

This list could be extended for many pages. 
It will, however, suffice as proof of the claims 
made for the German immigration during this 
period. Xo other country has sent to the United 
States so many men of high attainments at one 
and the same time, and when they were so much 
needed. They repaid freely with their work and 
their knowledge the hospitality extended to them 
when their own Fatherland drove them away. 



THE FORTY-EIGHTERS 



During the first three decades of the Nine- 
teenth Century the number of German immi- 
grant- seldom exceeded one thousand within any 
one year. When the July revolution had broken 
out in Paris in 1S30, the stream began to flow 
with new strength. The German liberals had 
been encouraged by this event to double their 
effort- for a constitutional government, while at 
the same time their rulers were frightened by it 
and concluded to put down the liberal movement 
with renewed vigor. The number of those who 
were forced into exile steadily increased. Thus, 
530 and [840 over [5,000 Germans came 
to the l'ii; - every year, and in the next 

decade, the annual average of German immigra- 
tion, ros( to 43,000 souls. The arrival of the 
Forty eighters, as those were called, who had to 
the Fatherland because they had taken part 
in or sympathized with the German revolution 
ary movement of 1848 49, did nol begin until 
the latter year and reached it- height somewhal 
lUSe most of them lingered for 
some time in Switzerland, France and England, 

in the vain hope that the light would be taken 

up again. 

The immigration that came in consequence of 
the German revolution was in many respects dif- 
ferent from that which had immediately pre- 
ceded it. While prior to ha- been 

d out, the liberal movement in Germany 
was practically confined t<> the educated cla 
it had now spread, especially in Baden, tin- Pala 



tinate and Rhenish Prussia, to the body of the 
people. Consequently the refugees were no long- 
er almost without exception men of high at- 
tainments and superior abilities, as had been the 
case before. These classes still formed a large 
percentage, but with them came -mall shopkeepers, 
artisan-, tanners and even laborers. The Forty- 
eighters showed a high average intelligence but 
were not, as has sometimes been supposed, with- 
out exception highly educated. Quite a number 
of them, in fact, were lacking in the experience, 
knowledge and judgment required to fully under- 
stand the ideas they had been lighting for. These 
frequently showed an exaggerated belief in their 
own importance, and were apt to cover their 
inability to defend their position by sustained 
argument witli an aggressiveness sometimes verg- 
ing on intolerant and intolerable fanaticism. They 
did considerable harm for a time. For while 
the leaders who-e names had become known to 
tlh- American people even before they arrived 
w.ie received with open arms and showed them- 
selves worthy of the appreciation extended to 

them, many "I the rank and file repulsed the sym- 
pathy felt for their cause by word and action. 
The idea had taken possession of them that in 
order to be truthful, the common usages of or- 
dinary politeness must be dropped, and for the 

same reason they believed themselves bound to 

give expression to their own opinions without 

1 to the feelings of others and without being 

called upon. Thus, for instance, many of the 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 29 



newcomers, who were almost without exception 
atheists, or as they preferred to call themselves, 
freethinkers, considered it their duty to ridicule 
all believers and to attack churches and ministers, 
as well as worshippers as narrowminded and 
unprogressive fools. Such behavior, coupled with 
an almost studied unconventionality of apparel 
brought about a revulsion in the American mind, 
and the German revolutionists were no longer 
looked upon as martyrs of liberty to be wel- 
comed to the shores of the only free country on 
the face of the globe, but rather as a danger to 
a country whose people were imbued with deep 
religious feeling and, it must be said, were at 
that time rather provincial in their views on the 
larger questions which had come to the front in 
Europe. There can be no doubt that such ac- 
tions formed one of the contributing causes to 
the knownothing movement which swept over the 
country during the Fifties. While indefensible 
in itself, it was, to some extent, a reaction against 
the position taken by a part of the German rev- 
olutionists which caused the latent nativism al- 
ways in existence to break out in agitation of 
an unreasonable and most deplorable kind. This 
feeling was intensified by the fact that quite a 
number of the German immigrants for quite a 
while considered this country only in the light of 
a temporary home. They were waiting for a 
new revolution in Germany and continued to 
dream of the establishment of the great German 
republic, which would call them back to the 
Fatherland. In the meantime, they shifted for 
themselves as best they could, with a firm belief 
in their own superiority, which they never hesi- 
tated to express, and with very little regard for 
the feelings of the people whose hospitality and 
protection they were enjoying. 

All these defects disappeared quickly, however. 
Even the most ardent spirits made their peace 
with the new conditions surrounding them and 
settled down to work. They became most valu- 
able citizens of the republic, as soon as their hon- 
est, but under the circumstances, purposeless en- 
thusiasm had changed into the sober endeavor 
to secure an existence by hard work and industry. 
Many of them, it is true, did not succeed, be- 
cause their training had not fitted them for the 
combat that was before them. Comparatively 
few were fortunate enough to continue in the 
professions they had followed before they emi- 
grated, and quite a number were compelled to 
enter occupations which they would have con- 
sidered far beneath them only a few years before. 
But they tried hard, and the great majority ac- 
complished finally what they had set out to do. 

For the United States this immigration was of 



the greatest benefit. For we must not forget 
that the man who is ready to sacrifice his all 
for an idea is always superior to those who are 
willing to suffer oppression and tyranny as long 
as they are allowed to earn a scanty living. Thus 
even those who were not highly educated and 
who came from the ranks of the artisans and 
laborers were the best of their kind. They were 
filled with the same spirit that had made the 
colonies free and independent. They had been 
fighting for liberty without counting the odds 
which were overwhelmingly against them. With 
all their faults they fitted into the institutions 
they found here and they became excellent 
Americans as soon as the natural opposition to 
unaccustomed surroundings had worn off. And 
they brought certain traits which were still rare 
in this new country, born in strife and inhab- 
ited by a people that had been compelled to use 
its best gifts in the struggle for existence and 
material welfare. These Germans were idealists 
to a man ; they were filled with a deep love for 
the beautiful in nature, in the arts and in liter- 
ature. They saw in music not only a pleasant 
amusement which permitted them to spend a few 
hours agreeably now and then, but the means 
of elevating the soul. They exerted a softening 
influence upon the American character, hardened 
in the incessant fight with nature and the ele- 
ments. They strengthened by their teachings and 
example the conviction that there was something 
higher in the life of man than the effort to 
amass riches, and they showed to those among 
whom they had settled that life had a beautiful 
side to it and that no harm could come to the 
soul by enjoying it. Above all, they proved that 
the correct policy in everything was moderation, 
and that all excesses were harmful, whether in 
the direction of self-denial or indulgence. They 
simply could not live without at least a taste of 
the beautiful, and wherever they settled they 
founded societies for the pursuance of higher 
objects, especially singing societies, which have 
spread and improved to such a degree that they 
form an important and valuable factor in the 
life of the nation at present. They laid the 
foundation for the development of athletics in 
this country through the numerous "Turner" so- 
cieties, the first of which had been founded by 
Karl Follen, and which now sprang up every- 
where. There were quite a number of poets and 
writers of more than average ability among the 
revolutionists, and the standard of the German- 
American press rose quickly. The desire for a 
higher life, so strong among these men, did not 
only influence the German part of tne population, 



30 HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IX THE IWITED STATES 



but also the native Americans wherever they 
came in contact with the immigrai 

Considering all circumstances, it did not take 
so very long t<> bring about a readjustment. The 
Germans lost much of the roughness which, after 
all. was only external, adopted American ways 
and customs and became a homogeneous part of 
the American people, while the Americans 
learned to overlook the traits that at first had 
repulsed them, and began to appreciate the many 
good and valuable qualities their new friends 
possessed. The mutual appreciation was hastened 
by political developments. Up to the arrival of 
the Fortyeighters the Germans had been Dem- 
almost to a man. The Democratic party 
had attracted them on account of its greater 
liberality towards foreigners and its freedom 
from nativistic tendencies. When the great 
Je for the abolition of slavery commenced, 
the German revolutionists threw themselves into 
it with the same ardor with which they had 
fought for liberty in the Fatherland. It was 
sufficient for them that the liberty of human be- 
ings was at -take, and their idealistic views of 
life left them no choice. The active part they 
took during the political campaigns which ended 
in the election of .Abraham Lincoln brought them 
nearer to their fellow-citizens of American birth, 
■ illy as tli led in winning over the 

great body of German voters to the new Repub- 
lican party. The task was a difficult one and 
not quite free from dangers, for it must not be 
forgotten that the Germans were almost fanatics 
in their adherence to the Democratic party at 
that time, and that they felt deep resentmenl 
against their own countrymen who tried to bad 
them away from their political moorings although 
they were comparatively recent arrivals and cer- 
tainly did not possess the same knowledge of 
American institutions and the same experience 
as thos,- who had already lived many years in 
the United States. But the work was a 
plished and the Fortyeighters swung the German 
in Wisconsin, Illinois Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, 
Missouri and other western states, a- well as in 

Pennsylvania for the Republican party and the 
Union. It must be mentioned here that th< 

named had been largely settled bj < ier 
mans, not by revolutionists alone, bin by many 
farmers who had come j n the wake of the refu 
: illy, was overwhelmingly 
German and the same was true of whole dis 
in Indiana, Illinois, < mio and [owa, while 
ties like St. Louis, Cincinnati and [ndianapo 
lis the German element formed a larg 
if the inhabit.: 
It i~. ol impossible to give anything 



like a complete list of the men who came to 
America in consequence of the German revo- 
lt'.- in and reached eminence in one field of hu- 
man activity or another. We must confine our- 
selves to the most prominent among them. At 
the head of the list stands, of course, Carl 
Schurz, the great orator, author and statesman. 
Mis career would have been a brilliant one, even 
if a native American had reached the same 
heights. How much more admiration do we owe 
to him when we consider that this man came to 
America without knowing the language and the 
customs of the country, and in spite of these 
drawbacks within a few years was counted among 
the ablest men of the nation! Schurz had hardly 
taken his citizen papers when he was made the 
candidate of his party for the lieutenant-gover- 
norship of Wisconsin, and took part in the coun- 
cils of the party as one wdiose advice was to be 
listened to and heeded. It was his influence more 
than that of any other single man that induced 
the Germans of the West to enlist in the cam- 
paign against slavery. After the election of Lin- 
coln he was appointed minister to Spain and ren- 
dered a great service to the country which is not 
as generally known as it deserves. His obser- 
vations in Europe prompted him to inform Pres- 
ident Lincoln that the only way to prevent suc- 
cessfully the recognition of the Confederacy by 
the western European powers, notably England 
and France, was the declaration of the American 
Government that it waged war for the abolition 
of slavery. It is well known that the Govern- 
ment for a long time hesitated to do this for 
many reasons, chiefly because the effect of such 
action upon the Democrats in the North and 
upon die border states was feared. Schurz's 
earnest appeal hastened the adoption of the only 

policy which could have prevented the strength- 
ening of the Confederacy to the danger point. Me 
served with distinction in the Civil War and 
as United States senator for Missouri, and was 
Secretarj of the Interior under Hayes. The most 

important work in which he engaged and to which 
he consecrated almost his whole life con I 

iii the relentless and unremitting fight against 
the s|„iils system and for the establishment of 
the merit system, generally known as Civil Ser- 
vice Reform. For many years the president of 
the National Civil Service Reform Association, he 

his full strength to this work. Me saw 
clearly that th<- poils system was a cancerous 

h which was slowly but surely destroying 

the very life blood of the nation, ami that with- 
out its abolishment the public morals would be 
hopelessly corrupted, not to mention the impos- 
sibility of ever securing a decent adtninist rat ion. 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 31 



The work he has done in this direction is not 
yet fully appreciated, but some day the services 
of Carl Schurz for the country he loved so much 
will be recognized. As an orator he belongs in 
the front rank, and few, if any, Americans of 
his epoch have surpassed him. His literary activ- 
ity was abundant, and his essay on Abraham Lin- 
coln as well as his life of Henry Clay in the 
American Statesmen's Series have become class- 
ics. He was the finest type of the Fortyeighter, 
always ready to fight, and if needs be to die, for 
his convictions ; never hesitating to defend them, 
whatever the consequences might be for him ; 
the born idealist to whom wrong of any kind 
was abhorrent, and who lived in the firm belief 
that no good could come from any other mode 
of life than the steadfast pursuit of the highest 
ideals. Always ready to suffer defeat in the 
conviction that right must triumph ultimately, he 
never compromised on points which he considered 
of vital importance in order to gain a temporary 
success. He was so imbued with idealism of the 
very best kind that his influence alone would have 
been sufficient to prove the immense benefits 
America derived from the German revolution- 
ists, but there were many like him, though not 
quite so able and not of so farreaching import- 
ance. 

Oswald Ottendorfer was another of the men 
of this period who may justly be called great. 
Several reasons may be assigned for the fact 
that he did not attain the same prominence as 
Schurz. Although a Unionist in the critical 
epoch of the republic, he was a Democrat of 
firm convictions and could never bring himself to 
look upon the Republican party otherwise than 
as the propagator of theories dangerous to the 
continuance and life of the institutions forming 
the foundation of the Union. While he, like 
most Germans, did not hesitate to take a firm 
stand against his own party whenever it suc- 
cumbed to influences which, to his mind, were 
wrong and dangerous, he lived and died a firm 
adherer to the doctrines of the Democracy. Un- 
der the circumstances it was natural that political 
preferment was not for him, because the party 
of which he counted himself a member was out 
of power during the largest part of his life. In 
addition Oswald Ottendorfer had become the 
editor of a great newspaper, the New Yorker 
Staats-Zeitung, which position compelled him to 
devote a large part of his time and activity to 
his business. All this might not have prevented 
his acceptance of political honors if his health 
had not been such that he had to husband his 
strength very carefully. It is difficult to esti- 
mate what this man would have accomplished if 



he had been stronger in a physical sense and if 
conditions had been more fortunate. By no 
means must the inference be drawn from these 
remarks that Oswald Ottendorfer did not par- 
ticipate in public affairs ; on the contrary, he was 
for many years a power in his party as well as 
in the independent element that esteems the wel- 
fare of the country higher than that of the party, 
and even during his last years, when he was al- 
most constantly confined to his room, his ad- 
vice was eagerly sought by men standing high 
in the nation. And while he and Schurz differed 
radically in temperament, Ottendorfer was as 
much an idealist as the former. Every move- 
ment that promised to improve the conditions 
under which his fellow beings were living, or of 
the public morals, whether it emanated from his 
political friends or opponents, was certain of 
his earnest support. Like Schurz, he was a 
mighty power for good in the life of the nation. 
Hans Kudlich, the liberator of the Austrian 
peasants, arrived in the early fifties. As a young 
man he had been elected a member of the first 
Austrian parliament, and as such moved the abol- 
ishment of the mediaeval laws which compelled 
the servants to work for the owners of large es- 
tates without receiving pay, thus making them 
virtual serfs of the nobility. These laws had 
long been abolished in other parts of Germany 
but had remained in full force in Austria. While 
Hans Kudlich modestly declined to take the 
credit for this great reform and tried to arouse 
the impression that a mere accident made him 
take the step which any other member might 
just as well have taken, it is nevertheless a fact 
that he, himself the son of a peasant, and there- 
fore a daily witness of the wrongs perpetrated, 
was, from the beginning of his public career, 
filled with the desire to free the sufferers from 
injustice. Great changes like this one are indeed 
not brought about by single men; when the time 
is ripe for them it requires only action at the 
right moment to complete them, but they are 
often delayed because an opportunity is lost. The 
man who acts when he knows that the right mo- 
ment has arrived, and who thereby achieves the 
result wished for is justly entitled to all the 
credit attached to the deed. History has recorded 
the fact that Hans Kudlich freed the Austrian 
peasants from serfdom, and nothing, not even 
his own modesty, can take this away from him. 
And it was not only compassion with the suf- 
fering servants that caused Kudlich to act, but 
his deep love for freedom and for humanity. 
With all his enthusiasm for the cause of liberty 
he threw himself into the revolutionary movement, 
was condemned to death and fled to America', 



32 HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IX THE UNITED STATES 



where he established himself as a practising phy- 
sician lmt engaged with the vigor he ha<l dis- 
played before in every cause thai made for lib- 
erty and equality and for the happiness of man- 
kind 

There were < 'tilers who reached political prom- 
inence, in those times always a proof of moral 
and mental superiority. Gustav Koerner, who has 
written a very valuable history of the German 
immigration before 1848, was elected lieutenant* 
governor of Illinois, Jakob Mueller held the same 
office in Ohio. Nikolaus Rusch in Iowa and Ed- 
ward Salomon in Wisconsin. Quite a number of 
German- served in the state legislatures and in 
Congre-s. The most valuable services were ren- 
dered, however, in the field of letters and on the 
battle-field. It has already been mentioned that 
after the arrival oi the German revolutionists the 
German-American press began to spread and to 
improve. This was quite natural, for among the 
immigrants were many who could use the pen 
better than any other way to earn a livelihood, 
and the great mass of the Germans were used to 
reading. We have referred to the New Yorker 
Staats-Zeitung founded by Jacob Uhl and ex- 
panded into the greatest German paper by Oswald 
Ottendorfer. Hermann Raster, after a stay of 
several years in New York, did the same service 
for the Illinois Staats-Zeitung in Chicago, making 
it the best and most influential German paper in 
the West. Schurz founded the Abendpost in 
it, and later, with William Pretorius 



brought the Westliche Post in St. Louis to a high 

state of success. William I >aenzer did the same 
for the Anzeiger des Western in the same city. 
Friedrich Hassaurek, a man of rare gifts, founded 
the Hochwachter; P. V. Deuster edited the See- 
bote in Milwaukee for many years. Before them 
Eduard Schaeffer had founded the Nationalzei- 
tung der Deutschen, Daniel C. L. Lehmus had 
edited with success Die alte und die neue Welt, 
and Heinrich Rodter had started the Volksblatt 
in Cincinnati. From this time on, and under 
the guidance of men of ability, the German press 
in America became an important factor in the 
life of the American nation. It confined it-elf 
no longer to entertaining its readers and giving 
them the news they wanted to hear, but it dis- 
CUSSed American political problems in an in- 
structive way and -trove to explain to the newly 
arrived immigrant American institutions and cus- 
toms. With few exceptions these newspapers 
were edited in a more independent spirit than the 
American papers. While tin > supported one of 
the two parties, they never went so far a- to 
defend every one of its acts. They were always 
ready to criticize when this seemed necessary, 
and the blind partisan-hip that know- no reason 
ing was quite foreign to them. They were thus 
able to educate by encouraging the reader to 
judge for himself, and they did this work thor- 
oughly. It ha- been continued to the present 
day by men of equal devotion to principle and, 
in many cases, of similar ability. 



THE CIVIL WAR AND THE YEARS FOLLOWING IT 



Tin- full story of what the Forty-eighters did 
for the United Stat.- ha- not been told because 
on,- chapter, and by no means the leasl important 

one. ha- to do with tin- Civil War. In recount- 
ing the part the German- took in this struggle 
there will be occa-ion to complete the Story. Bui 
mention the deed- of the adopted citi- 
zen- let us glance at the behavior of tin- descend 
ant- of those German- who came more than a 
century before the North and the South met on 
the battle field. We remember how promptly the 
Pennsylvania Germans had responded to the 'all 

to arm- when the Revolution broke out and how 

a company of German- from N . .1 k County was 
the lir-t troop to reach Washington after the 
battle of Lexington. The spiril of the fathers 

lived in the children, for when Abraham Lincoln 

needed protection in 1861 the first regimenl to 
reach Washington was composed of live com 



panic- from Reading. Ailentown, Pottsville and 
Lewiston, almost entirely composed of the de 
ScendantS of the German patriots of Revolutionary 
days. Of the eight thousand soldiers furnished 
by Berks County, Pa., during the Civil War. fully 
eighty per cent bore German name-. A- aboul 

nine-tenth- of the inhabitant- were of German 
descent, and many families had anglicized their 
name-, there i- no doubt that the descendants of 
the German immigrant- of former times fur- 
nished their full ratio of fighters for the Union. 
It was the same all through Pennsylvania, and 

in fact throughout the North. 

The American- of German birth responded in 
the same waj Thej and their sons formed whole 
regiment- and came to the front. From New 
York, New Jersej and Pennsylvania in the East, 
from Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa and 
Michigan they marched forth, ready to die in 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 33 



order to save the country they had learned to love, 
from destruction. And the old Fortyeighters were 
in the lead everywhere. They became regimental 
commanders and generals, for most of them were 
versed in tactics and had fought before. The 
greatest of them all was the gallant Franz Sigel, 
who had led the revolutionary army in Baden and 
since then had taught school in the United States. 
At the outbreak of hostilities he was instrumental 
in saving Missouri to the Union cause. He and 
some others organized the German Turners of St. 
Louis into a regiment and offered their services 
to Frank Blair. Their example was quickly fol- 
lowed by others, and it is an historical fact that 
without the German troops thus quickly gotten 
ready the attempt of the secessionists to take pos- 
session of St. Louis would have been successful. 
Sigel then took the field and prevented the Con- 
federate general Price from invading Missouri. 
After having shown his ability in several small en- 
gagements he decided the battle at Pea Ridge, 
the first real success the Union side achieved. He 
was made a corps commander and was the only 
general who held his position against the on- 
slaught of the enemy in the second battle of Bull 
Run. When the Union army was compelled to 
retreat Sigel covered the movement and kept the 
pursuing enemy at bay. He was undoubtedly a 
general of exceptional ability but had little 
opportunity to show it. It cannot be left unsaid 
that the "German" was not much liked by many of 
the other commanders, and that he was repeatedly 
ordered to make attacks when the troops under 
his command were entirely insufficient. His fail- 
ure in such cases was successfully used to keep 
him from getting the commands he was entitled 
to. Personally Sigel was one of the most lovable 
of men, filled with a vast store of knowledge, 
an idealist of the first flower, and of a modest 
and retiring nature. 

All the Germans who reached the rank of gen- 
eral in the Civil War cannot be mentioned but 
to show how numerous they were the most im- 
portant shall be named. Besides Sigel the follow- 
ing were made major-generals : Carl Schurz, who 
fought at Chattanooga and Gettysburg and com- 
manded a corps at Chancellorsville; Joseph Peter 
Osterhaus, who took part in the campaigns of 
Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Atlanta and Savannah ; 
Julius Stahel, who distinguished himself at Shi- 
loh ; August Kautz, one of the most daring cavalry 
leaders on the Union side; Gottfried Weitzel, who 
commanded on the James River and led the first 
troops into Richmond, and Friedrich Salomo, who 
had charge of Arkansas. Of brigadier-generals, 
Adolph Englemann was killed at Shiloh ; August 
Willich saved Kentucky by his victory at Bowling 



Green; Ludwig Blenker saved the Union army 
from complete destruction after the first battle 
of Bull Run; Friedrich Hecker, Carl Eberhard 
Salomo, August Moor, Hugo Wangelin and 
Adolph von Steinwehr served with distinction; 
Alexander Schimmelpfennig was the first to enter 
Charleston, Heinrich Bohlen fell on the Rappa- 
hannock, and Max Weber was killed at Antietam 
at the very moment when he was ready to break 
through the enemy's center, an advantage that 
would have routed the Confederates but was lost 
through the death of the leader. 

Not Germans alone who lived in the United 
States at the outbreak of the war fought for the 
Union. Untold thousands came over the ocean 
to join the ranks. It is true that many of them 
were adventurers who did not care very much 
what cause they fought for, but even these ren- 
dered valuable help and became good and loyal 
American citizens after peace had been restored. 
Many others came because they felt a deep sym- 
pathy with the cause, as was natural, for the Ger- 
man people took a very decided stand for the 
North. The Union had no truer and stancher 
■ friend than Germany, and this fact was so well 
known that the recognition of the Confederacy by 
France and England was delayed until it became 
impossible by the position of the Prussian Gov- 
ernment. Two reasons may be found for this, 
one of a practical nature, and the other a more 
idealistic one. There were already several millions 
of Germans living in the United States and the 
vast majority of them was in the northern states; 
many of them were Democrats in politics, but all 
were Unionists. The German people naturally 
took sides with that section in which almost all 
their friends and relations lived. But not less 
strong was the feeling that the North fought 
for humanity and for that liberty that is dear 
to every sentimental German heart. For though 
the statement may appear strange and almost 
ridiculous to Americans, it is nevertheless a fact 
that the vast majority of the German people, 
though monarchists at home and always ready 
to submit to the will of the Government, at 
heart loves liberty and is always ready to assist 
other peoples to gain freedom. More Germans 
have volunteered and died in the wars other 
nations have waged for freedom than in fights 
against oppression at home. This is one of the 
reasons why Germans so quickly learn to love 
American institutions. 

It may be mentioned here that there were a 
few Germans who took a prominent part in the 
Civil War on the other side. They were with- 
out exception Unionists at heart and opposed 
to" secession, but felt constrained to follow their 



34 HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IX THE UNITED STATES 



when tl leracy was established 

Among them was General Johann Andreas Wag 
ener, who defended Charleston againsl the Union 
army. Karl Gustav Memminger became secre- 
tary "' the treasury of the Confederate Govern- 
ment. 

We have seen thai over ninety-five thousand 
German immigrants had annually come to the 
United 5 between [850 and [860. In the 

following decade the average was nearly as high, 
reaching eighty-two thousand. Tims not much 
.in two millions of Germans came within 
twenrj years. Mosl of them were farmers, and 
they spread all over the West and the Xorth- 
The Gorman (.•lcnu-nt in the western 
. which we have repeatedly mentioned, he- 
came more numerous and much stronger. Many 
immigrants went farther west and when the 
great overland railroads had been completed they 
swarmed to the Pacific Coast. Oregon and 
Washington were largely peopled by Germans 
who, like their forerunners nearly two hundred 
before them, introduced horticulture in that 
region so well adapted to this purpose, and there- 
by laid the foundation for one of the greatest 
industries of the presenl day. 

I'm other elements arrived in ever larger num- 
bers. Germany began to emerge slowly from 
the condition^ under which it had suffered since 
the Napoleonic wars. Although the people them- 
selves were perhaps not fully aware of it, the 
trend towards national unity and greatness be- 
came apparent. It -till required a violent con- 
vulsion to bring it about, but it was in the air 
and the German people became more active, sell 
reliant and enterprising, and also more practical. 

The immigrants who were highly educated were 

no longer composed of those who had been per 

■ I. who hail failed for some reason 01 
or who were dissatisfied with their surroundings, 
hut among them were many who knew that 
America offered them better opportunity 



the use of the knowledge they had acquired, and 
who emigrated for this reason alone. In the 
United States progress had been rapid, and the 

sciences and arts were receiving the attention 
they deserved. Commerce between the two 

countries was increasing rapidly. The number 

of German merchants and hankers grew ami 
their enterprises became more and more im- 
portant. While German universities were at- 
tended by American students, German professors 

and teachers came to America. For the Amer- 
ican had also gone through an awakening and 
learned the less, ,11 that practical knowledge ac- 
quired in the course of every day work is not 
sufficient to solve the great problems of mod 
ern life He saw the need of the higher edu- 
cation based Upon the sum of the experience 
gathered by others. He began to build up gi- 
gantic industries and perceived that the rule o' 
thumb worked well enough where every man pic 
duced his own necessities or those of his imme- 
diate neighbors, hut that more was required for 
large enterprises. The money he needed for his 
railroads and other enterprises had been readily 
furnished by foreigners, and a large part of it 
by Germans, and the goods he wanted could 
easily lie bought. But now that he desired to 
make them at home he was compelled to look 
for men wdio had been specially educated for 
producing them. The American began to found 
schools and colleges that would in time produce 
what he wanted, but he could not wait for them. 
In looking around he found that Germany, above 
all other countries, was in position to supply what 
he needed, and he made quick use of it. Cut 
the arrival of large numbers of graduates of 
German universities and technical colleges really 
belongs in the next chapter, even though it be- 
gan about this time, as likewise the immigra- 
tion of trained minds of other professions in 
large numbers. 



FROM THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR TO THE PRESENT DAY 



Immediately after the war with France, Ger 
man immigration rose to very larg< Over 

four hundred thousand Germans arrived in 1X71, 

1872 and [873. It then fell off, hut increased to 

proportions heretofore unknown in [8£ 

ar and 1892 nearly two millions 
came Since then the German immigration has 

fallen off, and during the last few years has been 



tin- probable future of German immigration to 

America will he touched upon further on. 

I he immigration during tin- period following 
the Franco Prussian War and the creation of 
tin- German Empire differed in many respects 
from that of earlier tunes. The years between 
ind 1X70 had already foreshadowed the 
change, hut though the German had begun to 



almost insignificant. The reasons for this and acquire a larger fund of M ]f reliance and of jus- 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 35 



tifiable confidence in his own worth, he did not 
yet call himself a German outside of the borders 
of the Fatherland. Germany was still a geo- 
graphical name only, and while numerous forces 
were making towards unity, the inhabitants of 
all the large and small principalities were first 
of all subjects of their rulers, and in a political 
sense no Germany or German people existed. The 
governments of other countries did not know 
German subjects, and German ambassadors or 
German passports which would protect the trav- 
eler in foreign countries did not exist. The 
German going abroad was a Prussian, Bavarian, 
Hessian, etc., and only as such could he claim 
protection or the rights accorded to foreigners 
outside of the jurisdiction of their home govern- 
ment. The creation of the empire changed all 
this, and for the first time the German citizen 
felt that he belonged to Germany and not to a 
small part of it, and that behind him stood the 
officials and the full strength of a mighty em- 
pire. And inasmuch as this new empire had 
been born out of a tremendous demonstration of 
strength and of unity of feeling and purpose, it 
immediately became a power, recognized and re- 
spected by all other nations, and at the same time 
endowed its own citizens, for the first time in 
centuries, with unlimited confidence in their own 
strength as well as in the present power and the 
future of their own country. The effect upon 
the German character was immediate and mani- 
fested itself at home in the increase of enter- 
prise, in commercial and industrial life, and 
abroad in greater readiness to demand the rec- 
ognition a citizen of a world power is entitled to. 
This showed in the German immigration during 
the last third of the Nineteenth Century which, 
not only on account of its numerical strength, 
but also for the reasons given, became more im- 
portant and aggressive, produced greater results 
and exerted a larger influence upon the develop- 
ment of the American people, than the German 
element in the United States had ever done be- 
fore. 

Another factor must not be overlooked. Prac- 
tically all the Germans that came to this country 
during this period had served in the army, and 
many had seen active service in one or several 
wars. Americans, who are naturally and rightly 
averse to a standing army and compulsory mili- 
tary service, frequently overlook the fact that 
this institution has large educational advantages. 
It teaches a man to measure his own powers and 
to use them correctly, to overcome defects in 
character and temperament, and also many vir- 
tues that are of great value in every walk of life. 
To use a short but very apt phrase : a very few 



years of service under strict discipline gives to 
a man the opportunity to find himself. The best 
proof that this is fully recognized by the German 
people is the fact that the number of young men 
who emigrate in order to evade military service 
is steadily growing less and has become almost 
insignificant, while formerly it was very large. 
In Germany more than in any other country, the 
profession of the soldier is surrounded with a 
dignity and gives a standing that produces pride 
and self-consciousness — qualities which may 
sometimes be developed excessively but are nev- 
ertheless of great value. 

In short, the time had gone by when the Ger- 
man immigrants arriving in America were flee- 
ing from one kind of persecution or another. 
They came with the firm conviction in their 
hearts that they not only received but also gave 
something. Their aims were no longer confined 
to the wish to find peace, protection and liberty, 
they wanted to reap the fruit of the gifts and 
the labor which they placed at the disposal of 
their new country. There were perhaps not so 
many idealists among them who were ready to 
sacrifice themselves for the benefit of mankind 
without the slightest hope of reward, but they 
were all filled with the healthy idealism which 
does not lose sight of the practical side of life. 
The great materialistic wave of thought which 
swept over the civilized world at the end of 
the last century had already begun to exercise 
its influence. Even in Germany, the home of 
the idealistic dreamer, materialism was advancing 
with steady steps. This is not the place to dis- 
cuss the relative values of the two theories of 
life, but it is necessary to mention which one 
was the dominating one at the different periods 
in order to explain the difference between the 
character of the immigration at various times. It 
may be said in addition that the trend towards 
the materialistic conception of life was greatly 
strengthened, if indeed not caused, by the ex- 
ample the United States furnished, for their 
unparalleled success in the direction of material 
progress caused many to overlook the fact that 
the American people possessed a large fund of 
idealism. In Germany, where for generations 
pure and almost transcendental idealism had been 
accepted as the highest aim, materialistic ten- 
dencies were naturally softened and could not 
change the character of the people completely. 
They rather produced a blending of the two the- 
ories which was followed by the happiest conse- 
quences until they became too dominant to leave 
the idealistic spirit undefiled. One of the first 
and most important consequences of the change 
consisted in the effort to make science of prac- 



36 HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IX THE UNITED STATES 



tical service. Germany, with her magnificent edu- 

nal system and her clear perception of the 

value of thorough knowledge, was the first 

country to erect commercial, industrial and tech- 
nical schools and colleges where the pupils were 
not only instructed in the ways of doing things, 
as in the so-called manual training schools, nor 
in abstract science, but where both methods were 
combined Soon Germany trained large num- 
• t' young men in every branch of human 
knowledge after scientific methods, and the grad- 
uate of a commercial it technical high school 
combined the practical with the theoretical knowl- 
edge to such a degree that very little practise 
was necessary to make hi- services far more val- 
uable than those of his competitors in other coun- 
tries. Germany began to supply a large part of 
the world with civil engineers, with chemists, ar- 
chitects, etc. German merchants were found in 
every important trading place on the globe, and 
even German clerks invaded other countries, es- 
pecially England, where attempts were made to 
prevent their employment, which, however, was 
unsuccessful as their worth was undisputed. This 
union of scientific methods and research with 
the experience gleaned from actual and practical 
work showed in a development of the industrial 
life such as the world had never before witnessed, 
for i; included the transformation of a whole 
people which had, a- a whole, not unjustly been 
accused of being addicted to impractical dream- 
ing, and of an inherent inability to produce re- 
sults, into a hard headed, practical and enter- 
prising people with a char perception of the 
usefulness and valu< of every deed and act. 

Of such mould were the German immigrants 
of latter days. They fitted better into the indus 
trial life of the nation than their forerunners. 
They could immediately a--.i-t in the development 
of the natural resources of the country then un- 
der way. Then- were many among them who, 
like their forebears, tilled the soil and conquered 
the wilderness, being the instruments that added 
after state to the nation ; all of them brought 
the peculiar virtues with them which have long 
recognized a- essentially German; all of 

them were furthermore imbued with that touch 

of idealism that has been so valuable an admix- 
ture to the American spirit, and many helped to 
build up the industries which quickly grew to 
dimensions beyond the dream- of the most fertile 

imagination In every field of human activity 

the brain and the brawn of the German became 
an important factor, in some it predominated 
and was the moving f( 

It is impossible to go into details but a few 
of the most important facts must be mentioned. 



No less an authority than Andrew Carnegie has 
stated that the American iron and steel industry 
could never have reached its present develop- 
ment without the a-sistance of the German en- 
gineer who can he found in every office prepar- 
ing plans and devising means fur the work to 
he performed. There is hardly an industrial en- 
terprise, a large railroad company or a munici- 
pality in the United States on whose staff of 
engineers are not Germans. As soon as the 
American manufacturer grasped the fact that 
chemistry was a valuable aid and could save him 
enormous amounts of labor and money, as well 
as insure the uniform quality of his product, he 
turned to the German chemist who is now found 
almost everywhere in the United States, not only 
in the manufactories of chemicals, but wherever 
his knowledge can he used to advantage. When 
the glass-making industry emerged from the 
primitive state during which only the cheap quali- 
ties were manufactured here, Germans were 
brought to America to do the work and to in- 
struct Americans. In the textile industries the 
manufacture of silks and woolens is still largely 
in the hands of Germans. It is a well known 
fact that the introduction of beer, which bids fair 
to become the national beverage and has done so 
much to promote moderation by reducing the con- 
sumption of strong liquor is entirely due to Ger- 
mans and that this enormous industry is still al- 
most entirely in their hands. It is hardly neces- 
sary to state that the manufacture of pianos in 
this country owes its development mainly to Ger- 
man immigrants and their descendants. One has 
only to follow the advertisements in order- to 
be convinced of the fact that this vast industry 
may even at this late day he called a German one, 
though of course most of the founders of the 
great firms engaged in it have died. The piano 
manufacturers played an especially important role 
in the development of the country because they, 
or at least many of them, were instrumental in 
bringing European artists to America and raising 
the taste for and the appreciation of high-class 
music to the present level. The claim is justi- 
fied that without their help the musical art in 
the United States would he far below the high 

standard it has reached To this we will refer 
again when we speak of the influence German 

immigration has exerted upon the musical life 
of the American people. In going over the li-ts 
of the lithographers producing work of highly 
artistic quality tew American names will be 
found, most of tin- establishments of this kind are 
still managed by Germans or their descendants. 
This list could he extended indclinit ely, hut these 
few examples will suffice to show what the Ger- 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 37 



mans have done for America in this direction. 
It was the same in commercial and financial 
life. The German banking houses have grown in 
number and importance until at the present day 
no transaction of great magnitude can be com- 
pleted without their aid. Many of the insurance 
companies have been founded by and are still en- 
tirely managed by Germans. A German-American 
invented the first practical and to this day the 
best typesetting machine. In the import and ex- 
port trade of the United States more Germans 
are engaged than men of any other nationality, 
Americans not excepted. One of the great over- 
land railroad routes was planned and constructed 
by a German, Henry Villard, who later on was 
instrumental in securing a firm basis for the de- 
velopment of the electrical companies of the 
country. 

Leaving business and the more practical pur- 
suits alone, we find that the first exponent of 
political caricature, or cartooning, as the Amer- 
ican prefers to call it, was the German Thomas 
Nast, while another German, Joseph Keppler, de- 
veloped and improved upon the somewhat crude 
though always effective methods of his predeces- 
sor. These two men may be called the origina- 
tors of this art in the United States, and among 
those now active in this line there are many Ger- 
mans, the most eminent being, without doubt, 
Henry Mayer, who combines American wit with 
German artistic feeling and French grace. Of 
artists, the German immigration has given to 
America many shining lights. Emanuel Leutze 
should be known to every American, for one of 
his great paintings, "Washington Crossing the 
Delaware," has been reproduced innumerable 
times and is found in many American house- 
holds. He painted the mural paintings in the 
new wing of the capitol, erected in the fifties. 
One of these, "Westward the Star of Empire Takes 
its Way," is almost as well known as the one 
mentioned above. Albert Bierstadt became one 
of the greatest of all American landscape paint- 
ers, and some of his works, most of which were 
of colossal dimensions, found the fullest appre- 
ciation and admiration in Europe. His paintings 
of the scenery of the Rocky Mountains and the 
Sierra Nevada are unsurpassed. Henry Schrey- 
vogel, born in New York, but of German par- 
entage, is best known by his painting, "My 
Bunkie." Among the many sculptors of renown 
who came from Germany, Karl Bitter deserves 
the first place. 

During this period the American institutions 
of learning extended their field of usefulness con- 
stantly, and it was but natural that they came 
into closer contact with the German universities. 



Without debate the fact was conceded that Ger- 
many was still the home of the exact sciences 
and the best source to draw from whenever 
knowledge of and instruction in the way of ac- 
quiring it was needed. Thus a steady stream of 
German teachers began to flow to these shores 
until there was hardly a university or college 
without German professors on its staff. Their in- 
fluence is all the larger as it is exerted upon the 
American youth at a time when the mind is still 
plastic and ready to receive and retain impres- 
sions. Of the learned professions that of medi- 
cine has given to the United States most. Ger- 
man physicians of exceptional ability came to 
America from the beginning of the Nineteenth 
Century, but their numbers grew to great propor- 
tions after the Franco- Prussian War until they 
formed a large percentage of all the physicians 
in the United States. The great progress made 
in medical science is, to a large extent, due to 
their example and their efforts to elevate the 
profession to which they belonged. 

In the field of music the German has played a 
more important part than in any other. It may 
almost be said that the history of music in Amer- 
ica, from the moment when music ceased to be 
more than a pastime with which people were will- 
ing to while away a few hours agreeably, is a 
German history. As soon as the American be- 
came musical, that is as soon as he began to 
perceive that beautiful music is art of the high- 
est kind and elevates the soul, in making it re- 
spond to the most exquisite sensations and lifting 
it above all wordly things, the German composer 
and musician came to the front. 

It is well known that the Germans are a mu- 
sical people. They had already produced com- 
posers of note when they began to come to 
America. At that time it was hardly thought of 
in England that music was one of the fine arts. 
The English colonists brought little or no knowl- 
edge of music to America ; the Puritans discour- 
aged it even, and considered all music, except the 
■ singing of psalms and hymns, sinful. Among the 
German immigrants there were, no doubt, many 
who would even now be called good musicians, 
but no record exists of them. They did their 
share in increasing the appreciation of good music 
but they did not accomplish much until the first 
decades of the Nineteenth Century had passed. 
From that time on we can trace the progress of 
music in America. The beginning was not easy. 
If one desires to know how much — or rather how 
little — the American people at that time under- 
stood of music one has only to read the criti- 
cisms that appeared in the newspapers when the 
first artists of note were brought over and gave 



38 HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IX THE UNITED STATES 



concerts. Some of the passages are so naive as 
to be almost touching. It seems that the critics 
— and the audience, too, of course— were much 
more interested in the rapidity with which a pian- 
ist moved his fingers or the power with which 
he worked the pedals than in the sounds he pro 
duced. We read of one artist who had charmed 
the whole world that his playing showed that he 
had devoted considerable time to the study of 
harmony. In short, these criticisms show an ig- 
norance of music that could hardly he found to- 
day in a border town. It hail to he overcome, 
ami it -peak- volumes for the great gifts the 
American people possesses that within half a cen- 
tury it had emerged from such deep ignorance 
and was fairly on the way that leads to the 
complete mastering of one of tlie highest and most 
beautiful arts. The part that the Germans played 
in this evolution cannot he described lure at 
length, hut the fact- thai can he given will he 
sufficient to make good the claim that in this field 
they did by far the largest part of the work. 

We find the first trace- of systematic efforts to 
bring serious music before the public in 1838 
when Daniel Schlesinger, a German musician of 
great gifts, became the conductor of the Concor- 
dia of New York, a society devoted to the cul- 
ture "f vocal and instrumental music. Almost at 
the same lime, in 1839, another German named 
Schmidt organized a similar society in Boston. 
These firsl -park- kindled the sacred flames ami 
in 1842 the Xew York Philharmonic Society was 
formed, which si ill exists and to which not only 
the city of it- birth but the whole country owes 
a Kri-at debl of gratitude. Among its conductors 
were men like Theodore Eisfeld, who must also 
he remembered a- the founder of a quartet that 
rendered chamber music; Carl Bergmann, who 
"U wa- active in the Opera field ; Henry C. 
Timm, Adolph Neuendorf, Theodore Thomas, 
Anton Seidl and many other Germans. At the 
birth of tin- Philharmonic Society, twenty-two of 
it- fiftj four members were Germans ; in 1900, out 
of ninety four members eighty-nine were either 
hum in Germany or children of German immi- 
grants Not much later Eisfeld formed the New 
York rlarmonie Society, which was devoted main 
ly to the production of oratorio-. In 1N50 the 
celebrated Germania Orchestra came from Ger 
many and traveled all over the country with im- 
mense success, awaking everywhere the taste for 
good music Manj of its members remained in 
America when the orchestra wa- dissolved. The 

did not remain behind. In [850 I [an Ba 

latka formed tin- Musikverein in Milwaukee. Me 
\\a- one of thr pioneers of music in tin- western 
states and did much for tin- advancement of the 



art. After years of fruitful work in Milwaukee 
•Hided and took charge of the Chicago Sym- 
phony Society. In St, Louis tin- Polyhymnia was 
founded in [845 by Dr. Johann Georg Wessel- 
hoeft, and the Philharmonic Society by Edward 
Sobolewsky in 1859. The Cecilia Society of Cin- 
cinnati wa- -tatted about the same lime. The 
mightiest warrior of them all in the fight for the 
;nition of s^ood music wa- Theodore Thomas, 
win 1 diil not know what defeat meant and wa- 

ever ready 10 begin again when disaster had 

overtaken him. After he left Xew York he took 
charge of the Chicago orchestra and to him more 
than to any other single man America i- indebted 
for the musical festival- now held from time 
to time in many cities. Mi- wa- thr creator of 
the L;reat Cincinnati Musical Festival and was 
indefatigahlc in his efforts to make Americans 
acquainted with the works of the modern com- 
posers. It may fairly he said that he forced the 
public to like and appreciate what he knew was 
good in his art, and the fact that such work- did 
not please his audience- at the start never made 
him swerve from his path. Many German singers 
and musicians of great renown came to the Uni- 
ted State- a- visitors and assisted in spreading 
artistic feeling. 

The movement was greatly helped by the Ger- 
man singing societies. They had existed on a 
small scale for some time, hut they became large 
and influential when the German immigration in- 
creased in the middle of the last century, and 
contained a much larger percentage of educated 
men and women. They were soon to he found 
in every place where Germans had settled. They 
combined into federation- which held singing fes- 
tival- at regular intervals in different cities. At 
such occasions Americans did not only hear good 
music hut also learned how serious work can he 
combined with innocent enjoyment. In this way 
these societies became important educational fac- 
tor-. Manx of them earned a national reputation, 
especially the German Liederkranz and the Arion 
of Xew York, tin- Germania and the Apollo Mu- 
sical Club of Chicago, the Orpheus of I'-uffalo 
and thr Inner M.mnerchor of Philadelphia. Sev- 
eral of them added to their usefulness by engaging 
a- conductors Germans of exceptional ability and 
assisting them in their efforts to gel a foothold 
iii wider field-. Among the nun who began their 

career in America a- conductors of German -inl- 
ine; societies ami afterward became leaders of 
large orchestras were Man- Balatka, Leopold 
Damrosch and frank van der Stucken. Others, 
like Carl Bergmann and Carl Anschutz, <1< 
part of their time to -in^in^ socii 
In the field of "pita thr Germans in America 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 39 



have always stood for progress and it is due to 
their efforts that the works of the modern mas- 
ters became known to the American people. In 
1850 Max Maretzek produced Weber's "Frei- 
schutz," and in 1856 Beethoven's "Fidelio." Carl 
Bergmann gave the first performance of a Wag- 
ner opera when, on April 4, 1859, he produced 
"Tannhauser." On this occasion the Arion So- 
ciety of New York furnished the chorus. Carl 
Anschutz was the leader of the Strakosch and of 
the Ullmann opera companies, the latter giving 
for the first time in the United States opera in 
German with Carl Formes and Madame Fabbri. 
In 1877 Adolph Neuendorf produced "Lohengrin" 
and "Walkuere" and the Pappenheim Opera 
followed one year later with "Rienzi" and 
the "Flying Dutchman." But the man who put 
German opera on a firm footing in the United 
States was Dr. Leopold Damrosch. He had been 
the conductor of the Arion Society and had 
founded the Oratorio Society in 1873, and when, 
in 1884, Italian opera had failed again to satisfy 
the New Yorkers, he organized a German opera 
company, brought a number of the best German 
singers to this country and gave the first per- 
formances of Wagner's works in America that 
were worthy of the great master. Unfortunately, 
he died before his first season was over, but the 
work was continued by Anton Seidl, who for 
many years remained the greatest interpreter of 
German operatic and orchestral music in the Uni- 
ted States. Since the day when Leopold Dam- 
rosch first lifted his baton in the Metropolitan 
Opera House in New York the best works of the 
modern composers have been produced on the 
American operatic stage by the foremost singers 
of the world, and the times are past forever 
when the old Italian opera alone satisfied the 
American public. Without losing the faculty of 
appreciating what is beautiful in the music of the 



past, it has learned to understand and to love 
the best and highest in the music of the present 
and the future. And this is true not only of 
opera but of every other kind of music. 

From this short sketch it will be seen that we 
have not claimed too much when we said that the 
Germans taught the Americans to look upon music 
as more than a mere pastime to while away a few 
hours. They deserve the largest part of the credit 
if the United States has become a musical coun- 
try, if refined taste and good judgment as well as 
full comprehension of the art of music and its 
aims have spread to an extent nobody would have 
dreamed of half a century ago. Anybody who 
doubts this may easily convince himself of the 
truth. Any history of music in the United States, 
any newspaper and even the programs of musical 
events will show that to this day Germans and 
their descendants preponderate in the musical life 
of the nation. They are found in overwhelming 
numbers among the singers and the musicians, the 
leaders and the virtuosos, the musical agents and 
the impresarios, and even among the teachers and 
the musical critics. Without them the demand for 
good music, now so strong in the United States, 
could not be filled, and would, in fact, never have 
been created. There can be no dispute over this 
question if the facts are known, and it must not 
be forgotten that only of late music has become a 
calling in which others than a few great singers 
and virtuosos may reasonably expect to reap large 
material gain. Most of the men whom we have 
named and the great host that cannot be men- 
tioned here, worked incessantly and gave their 
full strength without receiving more than a 
meager reward. Many of them were, in fact, con- 
tinuously in sore straits, and it was the love for 
their art and the unbounded enthusiasm that is 
ready to bring every sacrifice for an ideal which 
kept them at their work. 



CONCLUSION 



In order to do full justice to the Germans who 
have settled in the United States it is necessary 
to consider the difficulties which they had to 
overcome before they could fairly start on the 
road to success. Most of them did not know the 
language of the country which they had chosen 
as the field of their activity. Practically none of 
them were acquainted with its political institutions 
beyond knowing that they gave to every citizen 
the right to participate in the government and to 
every inhabitant, whether a citizen or not, the 



fullest privilege to use his ability in any direction 
he might choose. Even the general views of the 
people in regard to the way of living and the 
social customs were foreign to them. All this 
they had to learn, and this could not be done 
without constant disappointments, for they did not 
always meet with kindness. On the contrary, they 
had to overcome hostility from many quarters 
which frequently made itself felt in attempts to 
ridicule their speech and customs, sometimes took 
the form of contemptuous treatment, and in not 



4(1 HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IX THE UNITED STATES 



a few cases led to brutal attacks. Naturally sen- 
sitive td criticism and slights, whether intended 
or not, the Germans suffered greatly under this 

treatment, but to tlieir credit it musl be -aid that 
they did not hold the American people responsible 
but understood that the acts they had jusl cause 
to complain of were committed by a small and 
narrow-minded minority. Neither their apprecia- 
tion for the new conditions surrounding them nor 
their endeavors to prepare themselves for Amer- 
ican citizen-hip was lessened by the unpleasant ex- 
periences they had to undergo. With rare excep- 
tions they took the oath of allegiance as soon 
as the law permitted it and fulfilled their duties 
■en- with exceptional regard for the wel- 
fare of the country a- they saw it. This was nat- 
ural, fur they did not gain American citizenship 
like the native American who receive- it without 
effort on hi- part. They, on the contrary, had 
j dearly for it. They had left home and 
Fatherland ami parted from relative- and friends 
in order to serve their new country and they con- 
sequently held in much higher esteem what was 
acquired under difficulties and sometime- hard 
-hip- than the man is apt to do who has but to 
stretch out his hand to grasp the ripe fruit. They 
to this day, proud of their suffrage, 
and in using it follow their conviction- and con- 
science more closely than the average American. 
Party ties sil lightly upon them and they do not 
follow blindly leader- who cannot convince them 
of the disinterestedness of their motive-. Their 
independence and their disinclination to submit 
to dictation "t- to subordinate their opinions to the 
will of others are some of the reasons why the 
German-Americans have nol exerted more influ 
ence upon political organizations. That compara- 
tively Germans have reached high political 
| illy explained by the fact that for 
mosl of them the English language remain-, after 
all, a foreign tongue, and that the German is 

hazard' hi- a venture as the 
embarking in the game of American politics may 
justly he called. The influence of the German 
upon the course "i' politics has, however, been 
very great, and in the main beneficial. The verj 
thai die so-called German vote always re 
mained an uncertain quantity ami in man) 

ami cities held the balance of power ha- cau-ed the 

professional politicians in almost every important 

campaign to he mi. re careful than they would 
have been if they hail known that the German 

American voters would follow the parts- r< 
• if principles and consequences. 
The Germans in the United State, have fre 
quently been criticized because they associate 
among themselves and do not mingle freely with 



Americans. In considering this statement we must 
t'ir-t of all strongly emphasize the fact that the 
American citizen- of German birth or descent 
never act in concert when American questions 
are to be decided, that is questions which involve 
the interests of the American people as a whole. 
It i- almost impossible to unite the German vote 
on purely political questions. It will sometimes be 
casl almost solidly for one side or the other but 
this i- only the case when questions are to be de- 
cided that, on account of their ethical or moral 
importance, appeal strongly to the German mind, 
or when effort- are made to deprive a part of the 
population of the right to live in the way it has 
been accu-tomed to because a few fanatics de-ire 
to compel everybody else to accept their teach- 
ings. When Germans come together to discuss 
political questions they do so because many of 
them desire to hear arguments in their mother 
tongue, not being able to master them completely 
if delivered in English. They not only have the 
right to do this, but it i- to the interest of the 
whole country when mean- are found to instruct 
every citizen, no matter where he has been born, 
until he understands fully all questions in the de- 
cision of which he must participate. 

It is quite true that in social life the German- 
American population keeps very much to it-elf. 
The reasons for this are obvious. The German 
immigrant has no relatives or friends among the 
native element, lie has left behind him the asso- 
ciations formed during his youth, which, for the 
man who remains in the country of his birth, of 
themselves create a constantly widening .and 
changing circle of acquaintances. Tin- German in 
America must seek new friends and has to begin 
life all o\<r again in this respect. Everything 
American is strange to him, the customs, the lan- 
guage and the people themselves. Quite naturally 
he associates with hi- own countrymen with whom 
he can converse freely and who have the same 
tastes. After he ha- become used to his sur- 
roundings and conquered the homesickness that 
arises now and then he begins to associate with 
Americans, but a- a rule to a limited extent only 
mile-- he i- -I. situated that he finds no other con- 
genial society. Mi- preference for hi- own coun 
trymen i- ii"t cau-ed by hostility to native Amer- 
icans, but solely by the fact that the ta-te- and 
customs of tin- two element- differ widely, Their 
ways of amusing and entertaining themselves and 

other- are nut the same, and they follow different 

rule- even in eating and drinking. Aside from 

that part of the population which ha- become cos- 
mopolitan in its way- uf living, the German does 
im! derive full satisfaction from the exclusive in- 
tercourse with American-, and the American can- 



HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES 41 



not get used to German ways. This involves no 
reproach upon either but is a natural condition. 
If the complete Americanization of the German 
immigrant is somewhat retarded by it, this may 
be called a distinct benefit for the country. The 
many valuable traits of the German can only be 
preserved and made a part of the character of 
the American people if assimilation does not pro- 
ceed too quickly. They would be weakened and 
perhaps lost altogether if the immigrant dropped 
everything he has brought with him immediately 
after his arrival. The amalgamation comes quick- 
ly enough, for the first generation born on Amer- 
ican soil is already thoroughly American in the 
full sense of the word, and in the second genera- 
tion the German origin of the family is as a rule 
little more than a tradition. 

If the Germans have, at least to a large extent, 
their own and separate social life, they are in 
every other way an inseparable part of the Amer- 
ican nation. Their loyalty to the country they 
have chosen and to its institutions is unquestioned 
and has been proven on every occasion. In peace 
and in war they have worked and fought with the 
same ardor and enthusiasm as the native Amer- 
icans. On every battle-field of every war that 
has been fought for the republic, German blood 
has flowed freely. They have done their full share 
in the upbuilding of this great country, in the 
conquest of a whole continent and the change of 
a vast wilderness into a land inhabited by mil- 
lions and producing wealth beyond the dreams 
of avarice. In commerce and industry, in sci- 
ence and art, in every endeavor that makes for 
progress and improvement their influence has 
been potential and of the greatest benefit. They 
have made a lasting impression upon the char- 
acter of the American people, softening many 
of its harsh traits, strengthening others that were 
insufficiently developed, and contributing some 
of the most valuable qualities which have en- 
abled this great nation, composed of so many 
different elements, to rise to the heights it oc- 
cupies at present. And while they continue to 
love and cherish the Fatherland that has .given 
them so much, they are proud of their Amer- 
ican citizenship, and their whole strength is de- 
voted to the greatness and happiness of the only 



country they now recognize as their own, the 
United States of America. 

If at times German immigration has been 
called harmful by some, the American people as 
a whole have always recognized its great value, 
and do, perhaps, appreciate it now more than 
ever and to such an extent that they look with 
regret upon its decline during the last ten years. 
The time may come when a new infusion of 
German blood into the American body politic 
may even appear highly desirable. It is by no 
means impossible that this may happen at any 
time. The tide of immigration rises and falls 
periodically, and for all who would rather see 
children of the Teutonic race settle upon the 
land still unoccupied the following words of 
the greatest German-American, the late Carl 
Schurz, spoken at a banquet given in his honor 
only a few years before his death, may bring 
encouragement. He said : 

"There has been a great deal of talk of late 
that the German element is in a state of decline 
because immigration has decreased, the old gen- 
eration is dying off, and the children of the Ger- 
man immigrants are getting completely Amer- 
icanized. The fact is that since I came to this 
country the German element has been several 
times in the same condition of seeming decline 
but has always recovered through increased im- 
migration of highly desirable kind in regard to 
numbers, character and vitality. This immigra- 
tion is dependent upon political and economical 
conditions which are subject to constant changes. 
The present decline may, therefore, soon change 
into a new and healthy revival." 

The time may arrive when doubt is permissi- 
ble whether the United States is in need of 
further immigration or not. There is no doubt 
possible that as long as there is work and room 
for immigrants, and as long as there is work to 
be done that can only be accomplished with the 
help of immigrants, it is highly desirable that 
as large a proportion as possible of the addition 
to the population be of the Germanic races. The 
history of the country proves that they have done 
more for its development than all the others. 
Therefore, let us hope tha,t Carl Schurz's 
prophecy may be fulfilled before it is too late. 



THE PERCENTAGE OF GERMAN BLOOD IN THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 



In order to ascertain what influence German 
immigration has exercised upon the character of 
the American people it is at least useful to find 
out what percentage of the inhabitants of the 
United States have German blood in their veins. 
The figures given here have been collected by 



Mr. Emil Mannhardt, secretary of the German- 
American Historical Society of Chicago, and a 
historian of undoubted ability. Mr. Mannhardt 
has been very conservative in his estimates, and 
has taken the lowest figures given by different 
authorities for the German element whenever 



42 HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION IX THE I'XITRD STATHS 



authoritative statements were nut obtainable. The 
conclusions he has readied will surprise those 
who still believe that the L'nite<l States i- in- 
habited principally by the descendants of the so- 
called Anglo-Saxon race, hut their correctness 
cannot he doubted. They are given here with 
the conviction that the researches of which they 
are the result were carefully and conservatively 
made, and with the knowledge that the informa- 
tion underlying the following table is correct and 
has been used with all necessary caution. 

Mr. Mannhardt divides the population of the 
United States according to the Census of IQOO 
into three group- : 

A. The descendants of the inhabitants of the 

United State- he tore the year [830 
1'.. The immigrant- that arrived in the United 
- during the Nineteenth Century and 

their children. 
C. The grandchildren and further descendants of 

the immigration of the Nineteenth Cen- 

t u ry. 
He arrive- at the following result: 

1. American-, that is that part of the 

population which had been so thor- 
oughly assimilated in 1830 that its 
origin could not he ascertained 12,713,036 

2. Anglo-Saxons 

\. 6,806,383 

B. 4^42,882 

C. 1,069.37- 

1 _' . 1 1 8,640 

3 < '•■ n 

\ [2,046,919 

B. 8,714^33 

C. 4,716,431 

25,477,583 

4. Scandinavians 

A 

B 2,223,345 
C 515.555 

2,738,900 

5. hutch and Belgians 

A 

B 

C. 50,010 

JO' 1. J' XI 

rmans mixed with other Germanic races 

A 

l: 

C 29,942 

52,318 



7. Celts and Welsh 

A 

B 5,225,161 
C. 2,850,182 



8,075,343 



8. Latin Races 

A 

B. i.S(>o,q66 

C. 261,536 



2,122,502 

9. Slavs 

B. 1,136/212 

10. Semites 

B. 572,764 

11. Hungarians and Finns 

B. 286.315 

12. Germans mixed with other, not Germanic 

races 

B. With Celt- 473o6i 

Wi:h Latin races 93,276 

With Slavs 38,380 

With Hungarians 14,825 

616,042 

13. All others 

B. 286,617 

From these figures the following conclusions 
may he drawn : 

1. The German element form- at present the 
largest part of the population of the United 
States. 

2. The German element i- twice as large as 
the Anglo-Saxon and more numerous than the 
Anglo-Saxon ami the American together. 

3. The Anglo Saxon and the American ele- 
ment together form thirty-seven per cent of the 
entire population; the Teutonic element (Ger- 
man-. Scandinavian- and Hutch) forty-three per 
cent. 

4. The entire part of the population that may 
be designated a- of Germanic origin together 

with the American element comprises fifty-three 

and one half million- or eighty per cent of the 
white inhabitants of the country. 

And these conclusion- had to the other-: 

1. The claim that the American people i- pre- 
eminently an English or Anglo Saxon people is 
without foundation in fact. 

2. An immigration of at least forty millions 
of nun Germanic p< necessary in order 

to overcome the preponderance of the Germanic 

elemenl in the United S 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 




DR. HANS KUDLICH. 



44 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR 

DESCENDANTS 



CARL SCHURZ was born March 2, 1829, in 
the village of Liblar, near Cologne; in 1840 he 
entered the Catholic Gymnasium of Cologne, and 
in 1846 proceeded to the University of Bonn with 
the intention of studying philosophy and his- 
tory. Like many other ardent and generous- 
minded young students, he fell under the influ- 
ence of Professor Johann Gottfried Kinkel. 
Kinkel was a poet, an orator, an idealist, a man 
fitted by nature to arouse the enthusiasm of 
youth, and ready, when occasion called, to at- 
test his faith by his works. He threw himself 
unreservedly into the revolutionary movement 
of 1848, and served as a private among the in- 
surgents in the spring of 1849. Schurz, follow- 
ing the example of his friend and teacher, served 
as adjutant of General Tiedemann, and, when the 
latter surrendered the fortress of Rastadt with 
forty-five hundred revolutionary troops on July 
21, 1849, he made an almost miraculous escape 
from it through the sewer connecting with the 
Rhine, and fled to Switzerland. In the following 
summer he returned to Berlin, under an as- 
sumed name, for the purpose of liberating Kin- 
kel, who had been taken prisoner, tried for 
treason, and sentenced to imprisonment for life. 
With the aid of wealthy sympathizers, this daring 
and romantic project was carried to a successful 
conclusion in November, 1850, and created a sen- 
sation throughout Europe. Friedrich Spielhagen, 
the popular novelist, born in the same year as 
Schurz, and his fellow-student and friend at 
Bonn, has embalmed this adventure as a stirring 
episode in his book "Die von Hohenstein," in 
which Schurz figures as Wolfgang von Hohen- 
stein, and Kinkel as Dr. Miinser. In fact, a 
more remarkable instance of self-sacrifice and 
heroism for friendship's sake has seldom been 
recorded, and it demonstrated the singular no- 
bility of Schurz's character. Schurz and Kinkel 
escaped on a Mecklenburg vessel to Leith in 
Scotland. Of the latter we may here take leave, 
merely mentioning that, after a five years' resi- 
dence in this country, he held a professorship 
at a girls' school in London, where he also es- 
tablished a German newspaper, Hermann, in 1866 
accepted a call to the Polytechnikum in Zurich, 



and died there on November 15, 1882. Schurz 
spent about two years in London and Paris, sup- 
porting himself by giving music lessons and by 
acting as correspondent of German newspapers. 
In July, 1852, he married Margaret Meyer, the 
daughter of a well-known Hamburg merchant. 
The match was a romantic one, the acquaintance 
being traceable to the fame of Schurz's exploit in 
liberating Kinkel, and was the beginning of a 
long and happy union, broken only by the death 
of the wife in March, 1876. In September, 1852, 
Schurz crossed the ocean and took up his abode 
in Philadelphia, where he remained for three 
years, removing then to Watertown, Wis. He 
attached himself at once to the newly formed Re- 
publican party, and in the following year, 1856, 
made German speeches which contributed so 
materially to carrying Wisconsin for Fremont 
by a majority of more than thirteen thousand 
votes, that in 1857, although he had but just be- 
come a citizen, he was nominated Republican can- 
didate for lieutenant-governor, and came within 
one hundred and seven votes of an election. Two 
years later he was offered the same nomination 
and declined it. His first English speech, made 
in 1858, during the senatorial contest in Illinois 
between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Doug- 
las, attracted general attention, and was widely 
circulated under the title of "The Irrepressible 
Conflict." In the following year he began the 
practise of the law in Milwaukee. On a lecturing 
tour through New England he made a decided 
impression by attacking the ideas and policy of 
Douglas, and by opposing a proposed Constitu- 
tional amendment directed against naturalized cit- 
izens. The latter subject he again brought before 
the National Republican Convention of May, 
i860, which he attended as chairman of the Wis- 
consin delegation, and which, upon his motion, in- 
corporated in the fourteenth paragraph of the 
party platform a declaration unequivocally pledg- 
ing the Republican party against all legislation by 
which the existing political rights of immigrants 
could be impaired or abridged. Moreover, he 
supported George William Curtis in his success- 
ful appeal for the insertion in the platform of 
the sentiments of the Declaration of Independ- 



45 



46 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



ence, which had been denied to Mr. Giddings. Al 
idily cast the vote of his whole del- 

:i f« >r William 11. Seward, Schurz was ap - 
pointed a member of the committee to notifj 
Lincoln of his nomination; a member of the 
National Republican Committee, consisting of one 
representative from each state; and also a mem- 
ber of the Executive Committee, which then con- 
sisted of only -even members. During the ensu- 
ing canvass he made many brilliant speeches in 
German and in English, which were an important 
factor in bringing about the election of Lincoln, 
who. after his inauguration, recognized the valu- 
able services of Schurz by appointing him United 
State- minister to Spain. Schurz presented his 
credentials to Queen Isabella on July 16, 1861, 
but in December resigned his post, and, after a 
brief vi>it to his native land, returned to his 
adopted country in January, 1862, to take ser- 
vice in the Union Army. He was commissioned 
brigadier-general in April, and on June seventeenth 
took command of a division in the corps of General 
Franz Sigel, participating in the second battle of 
Bull Run (AugUSl twenty-ninth and thirtieth). 
He was appointed major-general on March 14, 
1863, and on May second commanded a division 

neral Oliver O. Howard's Eleventh Army 
Corps, at the battle of Chancellorsville. With the 
same corps he participated in the battles of Get- 
ty-burg and Chattanooga, and served under 
Sherman in the Georgia campaigns. The sur- 
render of General Johnston to General Sherman 
on April jo, [865, terminated the war; and 
Schurz, having obtained leave of absence, pro- 

! at once to Washington and resigned his 
commis ion a- general. Hi- resignation was hied 
May fifth, and was the first one received by the 
War Department, with the sob- exception of Gen- 
eral Sigel's, which was tiled May fourth. In the 
summer of [865 Schurz was commissioned by 

Presidenl Johnson to make a tour of the South 
em State- ami prepare a report on their condi 
tion and the state of public sentiment, He made 
ful ami conscientious study of the subject, 
and embodied the result of hi- investigations in 

a candid and judicial minded report, in which be 
recommended that bet',, re readmitting the 1 

to full political rights a Congressional 
committee be sent there :•■ make a thorough sur- 

■ und and suggest appropriate ! 
lation. In the winter <,f [865 66 Schurz was 
Washington correspondent <>f the New York 

Tribune: in 1866 be went to Detroil and became 

he Detroit Post; in 1867 be removed :,, 
St. Louis to become editor and. with Emil Pre 
tortus, joint proprietor of the Westliche Post. 
At tht- time he made a journey to Europe, and 



u,is received in Germany with distinguished con- 
sideration; in an interview with Bismarck the 
latter requested him to give a history of his 
Kinkel exploit, and. after listening to the account 
with great interest, remarked that he thought in 
Schurz's place lie would have acted in the same 
Way. Having been appointed temporary chair- 
man of the Republican Convention of May, 1868, 
which nominated General Grant, Schurz was in- 
strumental in inserting in the platform a reso- 
lution recommending a general amnesty. Liven 
during the war, and while in active service in 
the field, Schurz had not intermitted his activity 
as a political orator, but had occasionally taken 
leave of absence when it seemed necessary to 
rouse public sentiment to support the Adminis- 
tration, and in 1864 had made some notable 
speeches in the second Lincoln canvass. A- a 
matter of course he was one of the most ef- 
fective speakers in the campaign of 1808, which 
resulted in the first election of Grant. On Janu- 
ary 19, 1869, the Legislature of Mis-ouri elected 
him senator, and he took his seat at the special 
session beginning March fourth, being the tir-t 
German-born citizen who had ever been a mem- 
ber of the upper house of Congress. The career 
of Carl Schurz in the Senate would have been 
sufficiently remarkable if regarded merely as a 
demonstration of his great gifts as a parliamen 
tary orator and of his readiness as a debater, i le 
was not only the most effective speaker in the 
Republican patty, but the greatest orator who has 
appeared in Congress in our generation. Unlike 
many of his most distinguished colleague-, he 
never resorted to inflated or bombastic rhetoric, 
and never stooped to any of the well-worn arti- 
fices with which demagogues from time imme- 
morial have been wont to tickle the ears of the 
mob. As was truly s.aid of him. he always -poke 
a- a rational man to rational men; he wa- al- 
ways sure of his subject and always full of it, 
and the natural consequence wa- that he always 

had something to say that was worthy of serious 

•011 even from those who mighl differ from 
him in opinion. Hi- iiiiumi.i1 natural gifts for 
oratory he had sedulously cultivated by a diligent 

stud) of the best models, with the remarkable 

that although be had arrived at man' 
tate before acquiring a practical acquaintance with 
our language, his English style very rarely, and 

even then only very slightly, betrayed his foreign 
birth and education: and in acquiring -o perfect 
.1 command of a foreign idiom he had never in 

any d Feited his mastery of his native 

tongue To his other qualities he added a quick 

vvi' and a biting sarca-m. which could cut very 
without ever Overstepping the bounds of 




GUSTAV H. SCHWAB. 



47 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 49 



parliamentary decorum, and which made him for- 
midable both in attack and in defense. In fine, 
we might say, speaking on Bacon's hint, that he 
was at once a full man, a ready man, and an 
exact man. But he has a better claim than that 
to the respect of the American people. It is 
Bacon, again, who tells us that "talk is but a 
tinkling cymbal where there is no love," and 
Schurz's greatness as an orator lies in this, that 
he not only spoke as a rational man to rational 
men, but as a man of heart and of conscience, 
who judges other men by himself, and feels that 
his best hold is in appealing to the better nature 
of his hearers. What he said of Sumner in his 
unsurpassed eulogy of the Massachusetts sena- 
tor, that "he stands as the most pronounced 
idealist among the public men of America," might 
with equal truth be said of himself. The course 
of events has taken his part in nearly all the 
controversies which put him at odds with his 
party in the Senate. He was in advance of public 
sentiment, not so much by reason of any su- 
perior foresight or political sagacity, as because 
of his fidelity to his ideals, and his conviction 
that, in the long run, truth was bound to prevail. 
He was the original Independent in politics, and 
the whole political faith of the Independent can 
be educed from his utterances. He was a warm 
advocate of civil service reform, of tariff reform, 
of currency reform, at a time when the friends 
of any kind of reform were few and far be- 
tween, and had nothing to expect from either 
party but obloquy and sneers. Perhaps the great- 
est practical service he rendered at this time was 
in his unwavering advocacy of correct principles 
on the currency question. He was almost the 
only public man who never made any concession 
on this point to ignorant public clamor, and his 
mastery of the subject was equal to the honesty 
and courage with which he stood for the right. 
The two speeches against inflation and in favor 
of a return to specie payments which he made 
in the Senate on January 14 and February 
24, 1874, were models of sound doctrine. Of 
the second of them Professor Bonamy Price of 
Oxford, certainly a sober-minded and competent 
critic, said that it was the ablest speech ever 
made on banking in any parliament, that its range 
and solidity were wonderful, and that it offered 
a body of detailed doctrine which almost through- 
out will bear the test of the closest examination. 
Any adequate account of Schurz's course in the 
Senate will confirm the judgment of William M. 
Evarts that Schurz had presented, under adverse 
circumstances, an instance of an elevated Amer- 
ican statesman, and the opinion of James Rus- 
sell Lowell, who thought his loss to the Senate 



a national misfortune. The complimentary dinner 
at which the sentiments just quoted found ex- 
pression was given to Schurz on April 27, 1875, 
to mark the regret which honest men of all par- 
ties felt at his retirement from the Senate, at his 
being (in the words of one of them) "exiled from 
one party by his independence and principles, and 
repelled by the other apparently because it is too 
ignorant to recognize his value in public life." 
It was certainly an unusual tribute to be tendered 
to a man whose public life was apparently closed, 
and it found an appropriate echo on the following 
day in a banquet and serenade given by Germans, 
and a few weeks later in another banquet given 
to him in Berlin by Americans and attended by 
many Germans of distinction. But a more sig- 
nal vindication awaited him on hi* return from 
Europe. Although he had broken with and de- 
fied the Republican party by taking sides against 
it in the Louisiana question, in the matter of 
the Ku-Klux laws, in advocating a general am- 
nesty; although he had opposed the Administra- 
tion in the San Domingo discussion, in the de- 
bates on the sale of arms to France, and on 
abuses in the New York Custom House : al- 
though he had originated the Liberal Republican 
movement in Missouri in 1870, and had thereby 
given the first impetus to the current of inde- 
pendence in politics which has since swept the 
country ; although he had presided over the Lib- 
eral convention of May, 1872, which nominated 
Horace Greeley for the Presidency and had ad- 
vocated (with much reluctance, it is true) the 
election of Greeley; although he had done all 
these things, and many others that equally demon- 
strated how little amenable he was to the ordi- 
nary canons of party discipline, and how much 
he placed the cause above the party — in spite of 
all this, no sooner had he returned home, than 
he was appealed to by the Ohio Republican Com- 
mittee to stump that state in favor of Hayes and 
honest money, as against Allen and inflation. 
Within a week he was in harness, and resumed, 
with all his wonted boldness and brilliancy, the 
good fight against financial folly, quackery, and 
knavishness which he had fought in the Senate, 
and which he was to fight over again for many 
years to come. It was to his valiant efforts more 
than to those of any other one man that the 
victory then achieved was due. In the presiden- 
tial election in the following year, he once more 
cast in his lot with the Republican party, believ- 
ing, as did many other Independents, that sound 
currency and civil service reform were, on the 
whole, safer with Hayes and his following than 
with the Democratic supporters of Tilden. There 
was an impression abroad that he had received 



50 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



positive pledges from Hayes that civil service re- 
form would be carried out in good faith. At all 
events he threw himself into the canvass with 
his customary energy, and his appointment by 
Hayes to the secretaryship of the interior was 
only a just recognition of the importance of his 
services, and at the same time a partial redemp- 
tion of tlic pledge, it" a pledge there was, in re- 
gard to civil service reform, of which it was on 
all sides admitted that Schurz was a sincere and 
ardent advocate. So well was this understood by 
the enemies of the reform that, while his nomi- 
nation was pending, they spread a report that 
hi- confirmation would be opposed by some Re- 
publicans from a "di passionate belief" that he 
did not possess business experience and admin- 
istrative ability enough for the proper discharge 
of the multifarious duties of the office. The du- 
ties of the office were, indeed, multifarious, but 
Schurz was soon to convince the country thai an 
idealist can be a very practical man in any busi- 
ness which i- compatible with honesty, industry, 
intelligence, and courage. He was confirmed 
on March eleventh, and before a week had ex- 
pired he assured the clerks that no removals 
would be made except for cause, unless the force 
had to be reduced, in which case the least com- 
petent would be removed; that no promotions 
would be made except for merit, and that, a- 
there were no vacancies, no recommendations to 
office would be entertained. This was not empty 
declamation, for Schurz did nol even bring a new 
private secretary with him. On April -i x th he 
promulgated an order providing for the investi 
gation and practical determination of questions 
connected with appointments, removals, and pro- 
ns by means of a board of inquiry com- 
posed of three- clerks of the highest cla s; and 
his subsequent actions demonstrated that there 

was no sham about this measure, but that it was 

meant in sober earnest. The reform of th< 

however, was but .a small part of the work. 
The new Secretary, in violation of all precedent, 
made up his mind, to master personally the busi 

of his office, which included the management 
of the Indian service, with an armj of offi< 

quarter of a million of Indians, and their land 

. ations ; the Pension < >ffice, the Patenl 
Office, the census, the public land-, the geoli 
ami geographical surveys, the transactions with 
'he land grant railroads, and numerous other 

matters lit- worked from nine till six, and some 
times late at night, and made the most of his time 

by devoting to business the bouts which most 

of his predecessors had tO politics ami 

wire-pulling. As a natural consequence, be un 

earthed numerous abuses which previous 



taries had known nothing about, and probably 
did not want to know about. He found the ser- 
vice in a deplorable condition, particularly the 

Indian Bureau. The Secretary of the Interior, 
and even the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
were kept in ignorance of what was going on, 
and contractors and Indian agents were allowed 
full swing. As fast as Schurz could fasten the 
responsibility for wrongdoing or negligent 
even mere carelessness, he made changes and 
removals right and left, regardless, as he had 
ever been, of the enemies he made Mis efforts 
to check the timber thieves brought him into con- 
flict with powerful corporations, and with his 
old Republican antagonists in the Senate: while 
his intelligent and well-considered Indian policy 
was attacked not only by a noisy company of 
traders, who had a vested interest in corruption, 
but by army officers on the one hand, and by well 
meaning, sentimental philanthropists on the other. 
All of these foes be faced undismayed, and did 
not allow clamor or vituperation to swerve him 
from what he considered the straight path of 
duty, lie put an end to the swindling of Indians 
by agents who were appointed to protect them, 
and in four years gave the wards of the nation 
a better start towards civilization than they had 
ever had before. During his term of office the 
agricultural products raised by them were doubled. 
In his first annual report he outlined an Indian 
policy, the chief points of which were: the main 
tetiance of good faith with the tribes: the dis 
couragement of hunting; the concentration of 
tribes dependent on hunting within reservations; 
their conversion to agriculture and stock-raising ; 
the establishment of schools and of agency farms: 
together with many other similar measures which 
FUggested themselves to a humane, conscientious, 
and highly educated official, who had taken pains 
to master the subject, and was no respecter of 

persons or of unreasoning prejudices. In other 
departments, he displayed the same capacity for 
practical business. During four years he recov 

ered and paid into the Treasury almost as much 

money for timber depredations as had been col 

lected in twenty two years before, and he was 
the first to demonstrate the ability of the Pacific 

railway companies to establish a sinking fund for 
the payment of their indebtedness to the Gov 

ernment. Without going more into detail, it will 

be seen that in his official career as a Cabinet 

minister Schurz was as great a contrast to the 
ordinary politican as he was during his term in 

the Senate. Instead of laboring for bis own 
aggrandizement, and striving to build up a party 
of personal adherents, on whose cooperation he 

eoiih 1 count through thick and thin: instead of 




TACOB HENRY SCHIFF. 



51 




HENRY P. '."I 1'-' 1! M H'l' 



52 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 53 



currying favor with men of influence by con- 
niving at abuses which helped the party; instead 
of using his official power to reward his friends 
and intimidate his enemies ; instead of resorting 
to any such devices which are but too familiar in 
our politics, he was a veritable tribune of the 
people, always ready to use his great abilities to 
promote the public welfare, and for the further- 
ance of good government. Apart from the spe- 
cific services which he rendered as legislator, as 
administrator of a public trust, as a popular ora- 
tor, in procuring the enactment of salutary laws, 
in preventing the passage of bad ones, in purify- 
ing the civil service and purging it of scandals, 
in promoting public economy and justice, in com- 
bating financial heresies and educating public 
sentiment — apart from all this, which would suf- 
fice to give him a strong claim on the national 
gratitude, he has a still stronger claim to ad- 
miration and respect, in that, in a time of great 
corruption and demoralization, he was found 
faithful among the faithless; faithful, that is, to 
a high ideal of public duty and private morality. 
His life will ever be a shining example to the 
rising generation, the hope of mankind, showing 
them that it is still possible for a man to achieve 
great honors and high station without bartering 
away his soul for a mess of pottage. It is his 
unblemished character more than his brilliant 
talents that will secure him a place in American 
history. Returning to private life, when his term 
of office had expired, and making his home in 
New York, Schurz became one of the editors of 
the Evening Post, when that journal changed own- 
ership in July, 1881, and retained the position un- 
til December 9, 1883. In 1884 he took a promi- 
nent part in the Independent movement, which 
was called into being as a revolt against ten- 
dencies in the Republican party that represented 
the antipodes of everything he stood for. He 
had himself contributed materially by example 
and by precept to creating the public feeling 
which made such a movement possible, and he 
contributed no less to its culmination in the elec- 
tion of Grover Cleveland, with whom he had, in- 
deed, much in common. The leisure afforded him 
by his release from public duties he employed 
to good purpose in writing his "Life of Henry 
Clay," which appeared in 1887, and at once secured 
him a high rank as a man of letters. It was 
widely recognized as the best life of Clay, and 
the best work of the series in which it was pub- 
lished. Its value consists not only in the correct- 
ness of its style and in its readableness, but large- 
ly in its quality as a contribution to political his- 
tory by one whose own political experience gave 
him a peculiar insight into the period he de- 



scribed. This work, together with his contribu- 
tions to periodicals, notably his Atlantic Monthly 
article on Abraham Lincoln, will insure him a 
secure place among American authors. Repeat- 
edly chosen president of the National Civil Ser- 
vice Reform Association, his speeches and activi- 
ties in that behalf were notable. He was also 
connected with various large business enterprises, 
in which his capacity no less than his integrity 
gained him the esteem of his associates; but he 
was too honest and unmercenary, in a money- 
getting age, to enrich himself. His quiet re- 
fusal to accept the large sum which admiring 
German-Americans offered him was characteris- 
tic of the man. In the elections of 1888 and 1892 
he again effectively supported Cleveland, although 
in the latter year his health did not permit him 
to take as active a part as he had been accus- 
tomed to do. His latest literary effort was de- 
voted to his autobiography, now in course of 
publication. Mr. Bryce has expressed surprise 
at the want of influence upon American politics of 
the great German infusion, and it is certain 
that no one of the refugees of '48 attained any- 
thing like the distinction of Carl Schurz, or had 
either so conspicuous or so happy a share in re- 
paying his debt to his adopted country. As a 
whole, it may be said of the Germans as of the 
Irish, that, deceived by the name of "Democracy," 
they cast their weight — at least during the years 
of moral agitation — against the anti-slavery party. 
In this particular Schurz shines by contrast, since 
he at once saw things as they were, and divined 
the essential unity between the Slave Power and 
the despots of the Old World. He differed again 
from many of his countrymen in making a com- 
plete surrender to his new nationality, desiring 
and aiming to be only a high-minded American 
citizen. Unlike his noble compatriot , Friedrich 
Kapp, he was not tempted by the conquest of 
German unity to return to his Fatherland. In 
the end, he came to think in English rather than 
in German, though both languages were constantly 
on his lips. In the multifariousness of his talent 
and his experiences in public and in private life, it 
was not to be expected that he should be equally 
surpassing. His military career was certainly 
less brilliant, though not less creditable, than his 
civilian. As a journalist, too, he was less suc- 
cessful than as an orator, and in fact, the world 
has seldom seen these two functions combined 
(in the first order) in the same person. The 
speaker's rhetoric is opposed to the directness 
and terseness demanded of the daily writer for 
the press, and as a speaker, it is to be observed 
that Schurz was accustomed to elaborate his 
weightier deliverances by a careful preparation 



54 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



in his closet. The journalist has nci time for thi-, 
and pays the penalty in an ephemeral fame. It 
would be unjust t" close this imperfecl appreci- 
ation without a word as to Carl Schurz's private 
character, which was both pure and amiable in 
a singular degree. He was very companionable, 
very warm and kindhearted, most affectionate in 
his family relations; passionately fond of music; 
absolutely simple and unaffected in his manner, 
and happy to escape from the observation of the 
world and the exactions of society to be at home 
with his hooks and engaged in literary pursuits. 
Like Lowell and like Curtis, he learned that the 
—ion of these virtues, superadded to abun- 
dant examples of public spirit, patriotism, and 
self-abnegation, was no security .against the most 
vulgar and odious aspersions on the part of his 
political adversaries. Yet the fullest appreciation 
came, too. Hi- seventieth birthday was celebrated 
not only in private by hi- friends but publicly by 
the Chamber of Commerce. Caricature w. 
busy with his line head and tall figure that few 
public characters were more recognizable on the 
street: hut art will yet he worthily employed in 
a reverential monument to hi- memory. He died 
in New York City on May 14, 1906. 

DR. HANS KUDLICH.— Had it not been for 

the downfall of the German and Austrian revolu- 
tionary movement in 1848, this country would 

in all probabilities, have gained the subject 
of this sketch for one of her most distinguished 
countrymen who. during that eventful period, came 
to this country with a host of fellow subj 
The life of Dr. Kudlich ha- been set forth many 
times a- an example to those who desire to re 
main true to their ideals, no matter how alone 
they might -land in their own convictions; and 
again it prove- that notwithstanding the difficul 
ties encountered upon the thoroughfare- to a use 
ful career, that enviable height can only he Mir- 
mourned by those who possess the -telling quali- 

f the docti »r. II'- « as horn in Lobenstein, 
Austria, October 25, [823, and received a thorough 
education in the Gymnasium College of Troppau, 
Austria. He attended this institution for -i\ 

. in which time he mastered the Latin and 
Creek language-. After his graduation from the 
Gymnasium, he went to Vienna, where he to, ,k a 
course in law, and which he continued up to 
[848, when the revolution broke forth. His 
patriotism asserted itself immediately, and he 
I hi- services for the uplifting of hi- fellow 
countrymen and the cause he was in sympathy 
with. During an encounter with the Imperial 
troop- J,, March of 'he above year, and which 

terminated victoriously for the revolutionists, he 



wa- wounded, hut after being nursed hack to 
life again, he wa- elected to the Congress which 
wa- called by the Emperor, under pressure from 
the party he represented. A constitution was 
framed by that Congress for the realm, and the 
provision that wa- most importanl and enduring 
lathered by young Kudlich. The abolition 

of tithes paid by the pea-ant- to the land owner-, 
and of the rohat, was championed by him. The 
peasants had been required to work without pay 
three days per week upon the land- of the lord-. 
Most of tin good work accomplished by the Con- 
gress wa- -wept away when the counterrevolution 
occurred, hut the restoration of tithe- and the 
robat was not undertaken by the Emperor and 
to this day the Austrian peasants are exempt from 
those taxes. This great public service rendered 
by Dr. Kudlich ha- made his name dear to mil- 
lions of Austrian peasants. It was during the 
memorable siege of the Emperor's troop- under 
Prince Windischgratz that Dr. Kudlich effected a 
miraculous escape and endeavored to organize an 
army among the peasantry with which to raise 
the siege, hut after many futile efforts his plans 
miscarried. He then joined General Siegel's rev- 
olutionary army in the southern part of Germany, 
and when it met with disaster he tied into the 
interior of Switzerland. Hi- extradition was 
sought by Austria, hut Switzerland merely re- 
quested him to withdraw from the country. From 
Switzerland Dr. Kudlich went to Paris, and in 
[853 came to the United State-, settling in Green- 
point and later in Williamsburg. One year later 
he removed to Hoboken, X.J., where he has since 
resided, enjoying a large and lucrative practise 

of hi- profession. His home i- located at No. 506 

Hudson Street, where he is -urrounded by .all that 
culture and taste can desire. It was during hi- 
exile in Switzerland that Dr. Kudlich first pur- 
sued the study of medicine and his course was 
concluded in the University of Zurich, graduating 
therefrom in [853 with the highest honor-. After 
taking up his resilience in Hoboken, it wa- nol 
long before his skill as a practitioner was ob- 
served and the practise lie established grew rap 
idly; up to the time of his retirement from ac 
tivitj hi- was undoubtedly the largest in the city. 
During the year of [853 he married Mi-- Louise 
daughter of William Vogt, a distinguished 
professor in the University of Bern, in Switzer- 
land. Dr. Kudlich became associated with the 
anti slavery movement shortly after his arrival 
in this country, ami was one of the most anient 
supporters. ID was a trustee of the Lank of 
Savings of Hoboken for many years, and was one 

of the founder- of the Hoboken Academy. For 

many years he was the president of the German 




JOSEPH SELIGMAN. 



55 




ISAAC N. SELIGMAN. 



56 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 57 



Club. He is also a member of the Society of 
German Physicians of New York and also the 
Hudson Medical District Society of Physicians. 
Nine children were born to Dr. and Mrs. Kud- 
lich, of whom seven are living. Their son, Will- 
iam T., is one of Hoboken's leading physicians; 
Paul F., who is temporarily in music, and Her- 
man C, who was a former city magistrate by 
Mayor Strong in 1895 and who resides in New 
York; Hans V., who resides in Dedham, Mass., 
and is engaged in business there. While abroad 
with his family in 1872 he visited Austria and 
received many expressions, both public and pri- 
vate, of the great affection entertained for him 
by his countrymen in appreciation of his valued 
services rendered during the revolution of 1848. 
Notwithstanding his advanced years, he takes a 
keen interest in matters pertaining to the better- 
ment of German conditions in America, and his 
advice upon the social and economic questions 
is regarded as authoritative. 

GUSTAV H. SCHWAB is the grandson of the 
well known German poet, Gustav Schwab. His 
father, the son of the German poet, took up a 
mercantile career and after spending six years 
in the office of H. H. Meier & Co. in Bremen, took 
passage for New York in 1844, where he first 
established the firm of Wichelhausen, Recknagel 
& Schwab, and in 1858 entered the firm of Oel- 
richs & Co. On his mother's side Gustav H. 
Schwab is a descendant of the early German set- 
tlers in this country. One of his ancestors, Con- 
rad Weiser, entered the country in 1710 with a 
large number of German emigrants from the 
Palatinate. Conrad Weiser was then a young 
man and became thoroughly acquainted with the 
Indians, learning their language and living with 
them for a number of years. He was instru- 
mental in negotiating many treaties between the 
colonies of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
Virginia and North Carolina and the Indians. 
His daughter married the Rev. Henry Melchior 
Muhlenberg, one of the patriarchs of the Luther- 
an Church, whose daughter married Dr. John 
Christopher Kunze, a professor in Columbia Uni- 
versity and pastor of one of the German churches 
in Xew York. The daughter of Dr. Kunze mar- 
ried Caspar Meier, the founder of the firm of 
Caspar Meier & Co., in 1798, which firm after- 
wards assumed the style of Oelrichs & Co. as, 
after the death of Caspar Meier, the laws of the 
state of New York did not permit the use of 
the name of Caspar Meier. A daughter of Cas- 
par Meier married Lawrence Henry von Post, 
of an old Bremen family, who became a member 
of the firm of Caspar Meier & Co. early in the 



last century, and Gustav Schwab, the father of 
Gustav H. Schwab, married the daughter of Law- 
rence Henry von Post. Gustav H. Schwab was 
born on May 30, 1851, on the banks of the Hud- 
son at the foot of One Hundred and Nineteenth 
Street, where his great-grandfather had built a 
house in 1807, now obliterated by the Riverside 
Drive. He received his early education at the 
hands of a private tutor, and in his fourteenth 
year was sent to the Gymnasium at Stuttgart, 
Germany, where he remained four years under 
the care of his uncle, Professor Christoph Schwab, 
another son of the poet. Having chosen a mer- 
cantile profession, Gustav H. Schwab in his 
eighteenth year was sent to Bremen, where he 
entered the office of H. H. Meier & Co., founded 
by the brother of Caspar Meier in 1805, and 
spent four years as a clerk in this business, after 
having spent a year in the office of the North 
German Lloyd in Bremen. He then went to 
Liverpool, where he remained for half a year for 
the purpose of becoming acquainted with English 
business methods, and in the fall of 1873 returned 
to his native city, New York, where he entered 
the office of his father's firm, Oelrichs & Co., and 
took charge of the agency of the North German 
Lloyd, which was in the hands of the firm of 
Oelrichs & Co. On July 1, 1876, he became a 
member of the firm of Oelrichs & Co., and has 
continued active in the management of the firm's 
affairs, especially devoting his attention to the 
steamship business until the present day. Early 
in his career Gustav H. Schwab devoted much of 
his time and leisure to public affairs and in 1890 
was instrumental in forming the so-called "Peo- 
ple's Municipal League" that nominated Mr. 
Frank M. Scott for mayor. Although unsuc- 
cessful, the movement demonstrated a wide-spread 
public sentiment in favor of the separation of 
municipal affairs from national and state poli- 
tics, and in 1894 Gustav H. Schwab took an 
active interest in the formation of the Committee 
of Seventy, the chair-man of which was Mr. Jo- 
seph Larocque, which nominated and finally 
elected Mr. William L. Strong as mayor of the 
city of New York as a protest against the mis- 
government of the city by Tammany Hall. In 
later movements Gustav H. Schwab took a prom- 
inent part in the campaigns of the reform party 
of the city of New York, in the formation of 
the Citizens' Union, and in the election of Mr. 
Seth Low as mayor. Gustav H. Schwab has 
also been active in his Assembly District, the 
Twenty-seventh A?sembly District of New York, 
and in the election of local candidates in that dis- 
trict. In questions of national concern Gustav H. 
Schwab took a prominent part in the sound money 



58 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



movement undertaken by the Chamber of Com- 
merce of the state of New York, and in the ef- 

;ecure a revision of the tariff laws and 
the introduction of reciprocal track- arrange- 
ments reign countries. On the death of 
father in 1888, who was a member of the 
Committee on Foreign Commerce anil the Rev< 
nue Law- of the Chamber of Commerce of the 
of New York. Gustav II. Schwab was elected 
a member of this committee in his place, and a 
few years thereafter was made chairman of this 
important committee. He has taken and still 
take- an active interest in the deliberations of the 
Chamber of Commerce of the state of New 
York. Gustav II. Schwab also took the place of 
hi- father on the Board of Directors of the Mer- 
chants National Bank, of which hi-- father was a 
director, and v. I. and i- now, a di- 
rector of the United States Trust Company. He 
i- also a member of the Hoard of Directors of 
the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company. Gustav 
II. Schwab i> chairman of the Canal Committee 
of the New Y'<rk Produce Exchange and took a 
prominent and active part as chairman of the 
Canal Improvement State Committee, formed by 
New York ;,nd Buffalo busine - interests, in the 
:ampaign for the enlargement and improve 
ment of the Erie Canal, which, after several years 
of hard work, resulted in the adoption by the 
people of the state of New York of the so-called 
rhousand Ton Barge ('anal" plan, for which 
the expenditure of $101,000,000 was authorized by 
•he people. In common with a large majori 
the business men of New York, he considered the 
future supremacy of the stale and city of New 
York to be bound up with the modernization of 

1 anal, to which the siate of New York 

(position among her sifter states. 
As chairman of the New York Committee of the 
American Reciprocal Tariff League, Gustav 1 1. 
Schwab i- interested in the agitation for recip 
rocal trad- agreements between the United States 
and foreign nation- a- a necessarj condition tor 
the continued extension and growth of the for 
eign trade of the United States. In charitable 
work it should he added that Gustav II. Schwab 
was formerly a director of the Juvenile Asylum and 
is still a member of the Board of Directors of 
' n's Guild. I le was al »< 1 tor fourteen years 
president of the German Society of the city of 
New York, .,nd is still a director of that society, 
which was founded by hi randfather, 

Christopher Kunze, with other 
( Germans, in the year 1787. 

I \n .1; HENRY SCHIFF, banker and capi 

talist, was bom at Frankfurt ..1: the Main. 



many. 011 January 10. 1S47. as the son of Moses 
and Clara Schiff. He was educated in the schools 
of his native city and entered the employ of a 
commercial linn after completing his education. 
At the age of eighteen, he decided to emigrate to 
America, and came to New York City, where he 
engaged in the hanking and brokerage business. 
< Iperating on a modesl scale at the beginning, his 
ability to grasp intricate financial problems and 
hi- skill in solving them, as well as his quick per- 
ception of opportunities, were soon recognized by 
the men who at that time controlled the financial 
markets of the country. Hi- advice was sought 
more and more, his judgment was relied upon 
by larger numbers from day to day. and his in- 
fluence in financial circles grew constantly both 
in America and Europe, until he had become 
one of the central figures in almost every large 
transaction that took place. He rose rapidly and 
is now the head of the large hanking house of 
Kuhn, Loeb & Co., a director of the National City 
Bank, Western Union Telegraph Co., Bond & 
Mortgage Guarantee Co., Morton Trust Co.. Title 
Guarantee & Trust Co.. and many other financial 
corporation-. Occupying a commanding position 
in the financial world. Mr. Schiff is also widely 
known through his almost boundless charity and 
his generous contributions to educational insti- 
tutions. He follows the best traditions of his 
race by devoting a large proportion of his income 
to benevolent purposes. It has been slated and 
never contradicted or even doubted, that no ap- 
peal to Mr. Schiff on behalf of a deserving cause 
ever meets with a refusal to aid. He is one of 
the founders and president of the Montefiore 
Home for Chronic Invalids, founder of the Jew- 
ish Theological Seminary of New York, of the 
N'urses' Settlement, .and a liberal contributor to 
practically every Jewish and non-sectarian charity 
of \',w York City. A handsome stone fountain 
with bronze ornaments which stands on Rutgers 
Square and bears the simple inscription: "Pre- 
sented to the City of New York, 1805." i- a gift 
from Mr. Schiff. the name of the donor remaining 
unknown for several years, until revealed by ac- 
cident. He presented to Harvard University the 
first Semitic Museum established in America and 
devoted to Semitic studies in [903, and is chair- 
man of the Semitic Committee of the university. 
Mr Schiff is a former vice president of the New 
York Chamber of Commerce, member of the Met- 
ropolitan Museum of \rt. the Museum of Nat- 
ural History, the American Fine Arts' Associa- 
tion, and of many other communal and altruistic 
lb- ha- also taken a deep interest in 

public affairs, and has been identified with prac- 
tically every movement inaugurated to improve 




HONORABLE CHARLES ADOLPH SCHIEREX. 



59 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 61 



the administration of the city and state. Mr. Schiff 
was married on May 6, 1875, to Miss Theresa 
Loeb, daughter of Solomon Loeb, his senior part- 
ner in business, and has two children. 

JOSEPH SELIGMAN, banker and capitalist, 
was born at Bayersdorf, in Bavaria, on Septem- 
ber 22, 1819, as the oldest of eight brothers, all 
of whom became active partners in the banking 
house founded by him. He received a superior 
education and studied medicine at the University 
of Erlangen in his native country. After gradu- 
ating he devoted some time to theological studies, 
but neither of the two professions satisfied his 
active mind which yearned for a larger field where 
knowledge and intelligence of high order could 
be made the basis of far-reaching operations. His 
university life had broadened his mind and kindled 
the love for freedom in his heart. Germany was 
at that time undergoing a period of political 
reaction, and Mr. Seligman decided to emigrate 
to America at the age of seventeen. Soon after 
his arrival he accepted a position with Asa Packer 
of Pennsylvania, who was then beginning busi- 
ness as a contractor. Young Seligman was em- 
ployed as cashier but removed to Greensborough, 
Ala., after attaining his majority, and started in 
business on his own account. His success in- 
duced his brothers to follow him and Jesse and 
Henry established themselves in Watertown, N.Y., 
in the furnishing goods business. In 1848 Mr. 
Seligman, who had been very successful and had 
accumulated considerable capital, decided to trans- 
fer his operations to New York City and commu- 
nicated his intention to his brothers to whom 
the narrow limits imposed upon business activity 
in a small town had also become irksome. In the 
meantime the other brothers had come to Amer- 
ica, and the eight Seligmans united their re- 
sources and established an importing house in 
New York City which, under the able leadership 
of Joseph, prospered from the start, and in such 
a remarkable degree that at the beginning of 
the Civil War it was one of the largest and 
wealthiest in the city. Mr. Seligman's active 
mind clearly perceived that the United States 
Government would have to engage in immense 
financial operations to carry on the war, and that 
consequently the banking business offered enor- 
mous opportunities. His brothers coincided in 
his views and determined to give up the import- 
ing business, transferring their united capital to 
a banking house. This they organized under the 
firm name of J. & W. Seligman & Co. With the 
large amount of capital at their disposal, they 
could not only engage in extensive operations but 
also provide for an ample reserve for any con- 



tingency. The master mind of Joseph Seligman 
directed the vast operations with such success that 
the business expanded rapidly and branch houses 
had to be founded in London, Frankfurt and 
Paris, as well as in the larger cities of the Uni- 
ted States. The parent house in New York was 
presided over by Joseph, assisted by Jesse and 
James. Leopold and Isaac took charge of the 
London house, William became resident partner in 
Paris, and Henry and Abraham resident partners 
in Frankfurt. In 1872 a branch house was es- 
tablished in San Francisco under the supervision 
of Joseph, but was later on merged in the Anglo- 
Californian Bank, which, however, retained its 
connection with the Seligmans. During the dark 
days of the Civil War Mr. Seligman was ever 
loyal to the Government and proved a mountain 
of strength for the Union. Through his influ- 
ence mainly a market for United States bonds 
was found in Germany and the sympathy of the 
German people strengthened. The London house 
was made the authorized depository for the State 
and Naval Departments, and it was Mr. Selig- 
man who formulated the plan under which a 
syndicate took up the 5-20 bonds which the Gov- 
ernment in 1870-1872 concluded to refund, thus 
becoming as prominently connected with the re- 
funding of the national debt as he had been with 
the issue of the bonds. When it was decided to 
resume specie payments the Seligmans were in- 
strumental in assisting the Government, and the 
house took $20,000,000 of the $150,000,000 loan 
issued by the Government in 1879. Secretary Sher- 
man of the Treasury and Secretary Thompson of 
the Navy publicly acknowledged their indebted- 
ness to Mr. Seligman for his assistance in crit- 
ical monetary crises in their Departments. Since 
1876 the house has been connected with every 
important syndicate. Mr. Seligman evinced all 
his life an honest and fatherly solicitude for the 
welfare of his brothers, possessing in a high de- 
gree the devotion of his race to family ties. His 
home life was charming. He was intensely patri- 
otic, a member and vice-president of the Union 
League Club, a warm personal friend of General 
Grant and a member of the famous Committee 
of Seventy. He also served on the Rapid Transit 
Commission which gave to New York its elevated 
railroads, and was connected with almost all the 
great railroad enterprises which connected the 
Atlantic with the Pacific and did so much for the 
development of the country. Mr. Seligman was 
of an extremely charitable disposition and a friend 
of the poor in the fullest sense of the word. His 
name was connected with almost all the great 
charities carried on in New York, and he took 
great interest in the Ethical Culture Society, of 



62 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



which he and Professor Adler were the leading 
spirits. Without question the l>t-t known 
one of the most prominent and popular Hebrews 
of the city, he gave large sums for benevolent 
purposes without asking whom they would benefit 
as long as they were worthy of support. He be- 
queathed one hundred thousand dollars for phil- 
anthropic purposes to such societies and institu- 
tions as his executors would select, and provided 
that no distinction should be made on accounl 
of religion or race. 1 1 i - wishes were carefullj 
carried out, but this large amount was but a 
trifle compared to the sums he gave away during 
his lifetime, lie died suddenly at New Orleans on 
Sunday, April 25, t88o, while visiting his daughter. 

ISAAC N. SELIGMAN, banker, was born on 

Island, NY., on July io, 1856, as the -on 
of Joseph Seligman, the founder of the well 
known hanking firm of .1. & W. Seligman & 
1 Me received his first education in Europe, 

hut returned in 1866 and entered Columbia Gram- 
mar School at the age of ten, graduating with 
honor- in 1876, the Centennial year, from Colum- 
bia C"!l ge. While in college, he was president 
of his class and took a lively interest in -.port-, 
being a member of the famous eight -oared crew 
which won the race on Saratoga Lake in 1S74, de- 
feating Harvard. Vale and nine other crews. Dur- 
ing the year- 1N77 and 1S78 he was connected 
with the New Orleans branch of the firm of J. & 

W. Seligman & Co., and in [879 was admitted to 

partnership in the New York house. This firm was 
prominently identified with establishing the en d 

the United Stati G rnmenl both at home 
and abroad, with placing the bonds issued by the 
American Governmenl under President Grant, 
and wnh the resumption of specie payment- under 

lent Hayes and Secretary of the Treasury 
Sherman. Mr. Seligman i- now. since the death 
of hi- unci.-, Jesse Seligman, the head of the 
will known banking linn. In [883 he married 
Mi-- Guta Loeb, daughter of Mr. Solomon Loeb 
of the banking house of Kuhn, Loeb X Co He 
ha- always maintained hi- connection with Colum- 
bia College, ha- been presidenl of tin- Columbia 

1 lub for several years ami one of the prom 
ineni members of tin- \lumni Association Presi 
dent Seth Low appointed him a- one of the com 
mittee to raise fund- for the new site of Colum 
bia University. Il<- i- identified with almosl ever) 
charitable organization in New York City. He 
has taken greal interest in every movement de 
signed to improve the city admini tration, and it 
may he truly -aid that every cause worthy of be 
ing supported by good ami patriotic citizens, 
whether of a political or administrative charac 



ter, or in the interest of humanity at large, has 
found a liberal contributor and earnest CO worker 
in Mr. Seligman. Hi- position in the front rank 
of public-spirited citizens of this republic is 
universally recognized and undi puted. His 
activity and the confidence he enjoy- j- shown by 
the numerous positions of trust and honor he oc- 
cupies Mr. Seligman i- a trustee of the Munich 
hire Reinsurance Co., Rossia hire Reinsurance Co., 
United State- Savings Bank, United Hebrew 
Charities, Manhattan State Hospital (appointed 
by Governor Morton ami reappointed by Gover- 
nor Higgins), of the .Yew York Oratorio Society, 
Soldiers' and Sailor:-" Home Protective Associa- 
tion, Legal Aid Society, American Institution of 
Social Service, McKinley Memorial Association, 
Fairmount College in Wichita. New York Sym- 
phony Society and of the Solomon and Betty Loeb 
Convalescent Home: trustee and treasurer of the 
St. John'- Guild, the Hudson-Fulton Celebration 
Committee, Carl Schurz Memorial Committee; 
trea urer and director of the City and Suburban 
lb pine- Company; trustee and chairman of the 
Finance Committee of the City Club; treasurer 
of the Citizens' Union since the Low campaign; 
treasurer of the Carl Schurz Columbia University 
Memorial Fund: chairman of the Finance Com- 
mittee and trustee of the National Child Labor 
Committee, treasurer and chairman of the An- 
drew II. Green Memorial Committee, vice presi- 
denl of the Economic Association, treasurer ami 
member of the Executive Committee of the Cele 
bration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniver- 
sary of the Jewish Settlement in Yew York City, 
chairman and trustee of the Endowment of the 
Chair at Columbia University of Social Ethics, 

director of the Academy of Design, General Grant 

Tomb Committee, Finance Committee of the Canal 
Association of Greater Yew York, and a member 
of the Committee on National Conference of 
Charities and Correction, of the Committee of 
the Columbia University Memorial Hall, of the 
Advisory Board of the Republican National Com 
mittee, tin- Yew York Historical Society. Cham- 
ber of Commerce and of its Executive Commit 
tee "ii Taxation, the Executive Committee of the 

Civic Federation, of the Committee of Nine on 

Police Investigation, Citizens' Union Committee 
of Fifty, Executive Committee of the Greal Na 
tional Association for Advancement of Science. 

Art ami Education, chairman of the Special loin 

mittee on Commerce and Education appointed by 

the New York Chamber of Commerce, and a 
member of the University Club, Lotus Club. Art- 
Club. Mill Day Club. City Club. Lawyers Club. 
Yi u York Athletic ('lub. Union League ami the 
Merchants' Ass< >ciati< »n 




JAMES SPEYER. 



63 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 65 



HON. CHARLES ADOLPH SCHIEREN.— 
The choice of Brooklyn as the place in which 
to make their home in America, by the par- 
ents of ex-Mayor Charles A. Schieren, when 
they came to this country in 1856, gave to 
the city one of its foremost citizens. He was 
born at Neuss, Rhenish-Prussia, February 28, 
1842. His education was begun in the schools 
of his native town and continued in the public 
schools of his adopted city. He was for sev- 
eral years engaged in the cigar manufacturing 
business with his father and in 1864 accepted a 
position in the leather belting house of Philip 
F. Pasquay of New York. Upon the death of 
Mr. Pasquay in the following year, he was made 
manager of the concern, where he remained for 
three years. Having saved a moderate capital 
from his earnings, he then embarked in business 
for himself, and from that small beginning has 
grown one of the largest and best equipped es- 
tablishments of its kind in the world. The 
growth of the business was rapid and constant 
from the start, and its continued prosperity has 
been directly due to the keen business foresight 
and executive ability of Mr. Schieren, who, 
during the forty years of its existence, has given 
it his close personal attention. He has also 
made a number of inventions which aided sub- 
stantially in the upbuilding of this great in- 
dustry. Among his inventions may be mentioned 
the "Electric Belt" (which was coated to pro- 
tect the leather), the "American Joint Leather 
Link Belt," and the "Perforated Belt." As de- 
mands increased and conditions changed, the 
output of his factories has been changed and 
amplified, until the matter of supplying the 
market with just what is needed has been re- 
duced to an exact art, and his brand has been 
made famous by the constant reliability of the 
goods produced. It was found necessary many 
years ago to establish branch houses in the lead- 
ing cities of the country, and now such houses 
are maintained in Boston, Philadelphia, Pitts- 
burg, Chicago and Denver, also in Hamburg, Ger- 
many, while a large lace leather tannery has 
been operated in Brooklyn since about 1880. But 
probably the most noteworthy extension of facili- 
ties was the establishment of the Dixie Tan- 
neries in Bristol, Tenn., in 1893. This plant and 
its adjunct, the Holston Extract Company, cov- 
ers thirty-one acres, and has a capacity of over 
one hundred thousand hides a year. Here, as in 
all the other departments of this vast business, 
are employed all the best methods and processes 
known to the leather and belt making arts. Some 
of these methods are the latest results of sci- 
entific experiments, and some are the time-hon- 



ored methods which have stood the test of gen- 
erations. A notable instance of this is the re- 
tention of the old process of vat tanning with 
rock oak bark, which requires four months to 
produce a perfectly tanned hide. Mr. Schieren 
is still the active head of the company which 
bears his name. He is also president of the Ger- 
mania Savings Bank of Brooklyn, a trustee of 
the Brooklyn Trust Company, a director of the 
Nassau National Bank, a trustee of the Ger- 
mania Life Insurance Company, and a trustee of 
the Aachen & Munich Fire Insurance Company. 
He has been prominently connected with the 
Leather Association of New York since its or- 
ganization, and one of the founders and members 
of the National Association of Manufacturers — 
is a member of its Executive Committee, an 
was formerly its treasurer. He is a recognized 
authority on the subject of leather and "belting, 
and his remarks in interview or in public speak- 
ing are highly valued. He wrote "The Uses 
and Abuses of Belting," "Transmission of Pow- 
er by Belt," "History of Leather and Belting," 
"From Tannery to Dynamo," which he presen/ed 
before the National Electric Light Association 
in 1888, and the Technical Society of New York, 
and which were subsequently published in the 
trade journals. While the foregoing would seem 
sufficient to fully occupy him, Mr. Schieren 
has always found time to take an active inter- 
est in public affairs. He was a member of the 
famous "Wide Awakes," in i860, who did such 
splendid work toward securing the election of 
Abraham Lincoln to the presidency, and since 
that time has been an ardent advocate of the 
principles of the Republican party. He took a 
leading part in the reorganization of the party 
in Brooklyn upon the election district association 
plan, which finally led to the overthrow of Dem- 
ocratic sway in the city. In 1893 he was nomi- 
nated by his party for the office of mayor of 
Brooklyn and was elected by an overwhelming 
majority of thirty-three thousand votes. The 
campaign was conducted along the line of anti- 
machine rule, and was one of the first of its 
kind in the country to result in success. Mr. 
Schieren has a national reputation as a reformer 
in politics, but his work has been toward secur- 
ing purity in politics, rather than in support of 
so-called "Reform" movements which usually ac- 
complish a little more than to thwart the people as 
a whole in their real choice of public officials. His 
term as mayor was signalized by the straight- 
forward business methods employed, and the 
large number of important public improvements 
which were planned and executed. During his 
term of office Wallabout Market was remodeled 




66 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



from an unsightly, inconvenient mass of wooden 
buildings, to a substantial, picturesque, and valu- 
able market, having twice its former capacity. 
Through his influence and energetic advocacy the 
bill was passed by the Legislature in 1895 au- 
thorizing the construction of the Williamsburg 
Bridge, the initial plans were made and the work 

■ 1. By the addition of five new parks, Mr. 
Schieren's administration more than doubled the 
area of the parks of the city of Brooklyn. The 
largest "t' these, Forest Park, comprises live hun- 
dred and thirty-six acres, is noted for its ele- 
vation, natural beauty, and fine view of both 
the ocean and Long Island Sound. Dyker 
Meadow Park, containing one hundred and fifty 
acre-, i- also of great importance, as it em- 
braces several thousand feet of ocean front. Final 
plans were adopted and riparian rights secured 
for the Shore Driveway, which, when completed, 
will he one of the finest in the world. He also 
was "tie of the founders of the Brooklyn Mu- 
seum and laid the corner-stone during his admin- 
istration a- mayor for this magnificent building 
on the Park Slope. It i- an instance worthy of 
note, that during his occupancy of the mayor- 
alty he devoted his entire time to the duties of 
>ffice. Hi- declined a renomination, retiring 
from 1 .nice with the city in splendid financial con- 
dition. Since then he ha-- received unsought ap- 
pointment t<> several positions of honor and re- 
sponsibility. The late and greatly lamented Pres 

McKinley, of whom he was a close personal 
friend, appointed him a member of the Cuban 
Relief Committee, of which he was treasurer. He 

hairman of the New York State Commerce 
Commission, appointed by Governor Black, which 
urged tin- enlargement of the Erie Canal, ami 
was largely instrumental in passing the Barge 
Canal referendum by a tremendous majority of 
nearly two hundred and forty-live thousand votes ; 
also a member of tin- Greater New York Char- 
ter Revision Commission, appointed by Gover 
nor Roosevelt. He is now president of the 
: lyn Academy of Music, for the building of 

which a million dollars has been raised. For 
many year-, and during his term as mayor, Mr. 
Schieren advocated the consolidation of New 
York and Brooklyn, and his influence aided 
greatly in finally securing it enactment. Mr. 
Schieren is a member of the Church of the Re- 
deemer, English Lutheran, and is probably the 
niipst prominent lay member of that denomina- 
tion in th>- United States 11'- is not only a lil> 
eral supporter of his own church, hut has given 
financial aid in the building of new churches and 

ctension "t religious work all over the coun 

llis beneficence in this direction has even 



crossed the ocean, the new chancel stained-glass 

windows in the Lutheran Cathedral in Neuss, Ger- 
many, in which he was baptized, heing of his do- 
nation. He also presented to the cathedral in 
Speyer-on-the-Rhine the colossal bronze statue 
of Martin Luther, the base of which was given 
by other German-Americans. He aided in the 
erection of the Luther statue in Washington and 
was a member of the committee which erected 
the Beecher and Stranahan -tatues in Brooklyn. 
He is a trustee of the Young Men's Christian As- 
sociation, the Young Women's Christian Associ- 
ation, and was for several years a trustee of the 
Sunday School Union, the Union for Christian 
Work and the Society for the Prevention of 
Cruelty to Children. He has been for many years 
a member of the Union League Club of Manhat- 
tan and the Hamilton Club of Brooklyn. Mr. 
Schieren was married in 1865 to Miss Louise 
Bramm, a daughter of George \V. Bramm of 
Brooklyn, and has four children: Charles A. 
Schieren, Jr.. Miss Ida May Schieren, George Ar- 
thur Schieren and Harrie Victor Schieren. 
Charles A. Schieren is a representative of the 
large portion of the population of the United 
States which has been furnished by the German 
Empire, and he is one of which his native and his 
adopted country may well be proud. Brilliantly 
successful in all his undertakings, public spirited, 
clean charactered, and ever read} to support by 
his means and influence any enterprise which has 
for its purpose the betterment and welfare ni the 
community of which he has been an honored 
member for half a century, he is a splendid speci- 
men of the highest type of American citizenship. 

WILLIAM WICKE, presi.lent of the William 
Wicke Ribbon Company, was born at Neue- 
rnuhle, near Hessen Cassel, Germany, on June 

\. [84O. Me attended the puhlic Schools a' 
-el until 1855, at which time he emigrated to 
America, arriving in New York on August second 
of that year. His object in coming to this coun- 
try at such an carh age was to assist his brother, 
< Wicke. who had established a good busi- 
ness in manufacturing cigar boxes. After mas- 
tering that trade and when he was twenty one 

years old, a copartnership was formed June 4. 

1 Sot. under the firm name of George Wicke and 
Brother, which was continued until 1S7J: on ac- 
count of illness, George retired from business. 
William continuing under the firm name <<i Will- 
iam Wicke & Company. In [882 Mr. Wicke built 
an extensive factory on fust Avenue, between 
Thirty fust and Thirty-second Streets and East 

River, on a plot covering twenty two city lots. It 

the largest establishment of its kind in the 




OTTO H. KAHX. 



67 




( ARL WALTHER. D.D.. PH.D. 



f„S 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 69 



world. In this factory he introduced silk-weav- 
ing, manufacturing cigar ribbons, bindings for 
underwear, blankets and ladies' dresses. He also 
began the importation from Cuba and Mexico of 
cedar and mahogany in logs. The mahogany he 
disposed of to furniture manufacturers ; die cedar 
being converted into veneers at his own mills, this 
product being largely utilized by himself for the 
manufacture of cigar boxes. His surplus stock 
was disposed of to other cigar box manufactur- 
ers. In 1891 he incorporated his extensive busi- 
ness under the name of the William Wicke Com- 
pany. A branch house employing one hundred 
hands was opened at Tampa, Fla., for the manu- 
facture of cigar boxes. In 1899 the company 
purchased seventy city lots at Glendale, Brooklyn, 
where an immense factory, giving employment to 
three hundred people, was built for the manufac- 
ture of silk ribbons and bindings. On January 
30, 1901, the Xew York City factory, where six 
hundred hands were employed, was totally de- 
stroyed by fire. The company decided not to 
rebuild but to devote their attention to the Brook- 
lyn plant. The box factory at Tampa was also 
disposed of. The Brooklyn establishment contains 
the most modern machinery and improvements. 
After the destruction of the Xew York City 
plant the corporate name of the concern was 
changed to its present one — William Wicke Rib- 
bon Company. In cigar boxes alone the company 
turns out every ten hours — a day's work — thirty- 
four thousand completed cigar boxes. The main 
business and executive offices are located at No. 
36 East Twenty-second Street, Xew York City. 
The company's output is marketed throughout 
the United States, but principally in Xew York 
City. The officers of the company are William 
Wicke, Sr., president ; George H. Wicke, vice- 
president, and William Wicke, Jr., secretary. On 
February 6, 1868, Mr. Wicke married Miss Louise 
Margaret Linder of Weissenburg, Elsas. Six 
children have been born to the union, viz. : Louise 
Margaret, George Henry, William, Jr., Carl 
Wicke, Anna and Henry, the two latter having 
died in infancy. Carl Wicke, the younge=t son, 
is at present a student of Columbia Law School. 
In politics Mr. Wicke is Independent. He is a 
member of a large number of social, benevolent 
and other organizations, prominent among them 
are the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to 
Animals, American Museum of Xatural History, 
Legal Aid Society, Association for the Protection 
of the Adirondacks, German Society, Citizens' 
Union, American Scenic and Hi toric Preserva- 
tion Society, Young Men's Chr'stian Association, 
New York Academy of Sciences, Vereinigten 
Deutschen Gesellschaften der Stadt New York, 



Linnaean Society of New York, Prison Associ- 
ation, Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, 
New York Botanical Garden, German Lieder- 
kranz, Germanistic Society of America, Arion So- 
ciety, Students' Club, Metropolitan Museum of 
Art, Jung Arion, National Municipal League and 
also a member of numerous other charitable in- 
stitutions. Mr. Wicke is a self-made man in 
everything that the term implies. His success in 
life is due entirely to his indomitable courage, fine 
business principles and conscientious scruples. For 
his years he is a splendid type of vigorous man- 
hood and of a most pleasing personality. He en- 
joys a large social and commercial acquaintance 
and is universally esteemed. He is a large holder 
of Xew York City, as well as outside realty. Un- 
der his guidance Mr. Wicke's sons have acquired 
the practical methods he has so well mastered, for 
the continuation of the extensive business when 
he shall have laid aside the mantle of commercial 
life. 

MAX AMS. — One of the many examples of 
indomitable courage and perseverance that is so 
prevalent in the German race, and to which this 
country owes much of its international promi- 
nence, is shown in the subject of this sketch. Born 
in Waldkirch, Baden, Germany, Xovember 2, 
1844, he received a liberal education in the public 
schools of his place of nativity, graduating there- 
from at an early age. It seems that the future 
of Mr. Ams was decided upon shortly after leav- 
ing school, when fourteen, for he chose commer- 
cialism at the start. Beginning as a clerk in a 
general store located at Freiburg, a distance of 
twenty miles from Waldkirch, he laid the foun- 
dation of a most remarkable career. His clerk- 
ship ended when he was nineteen years of age, 
after occupying a place as bookkeeper and trav- 
eler in Pforzheim for three years, and during 
that time his capabilities had been developed to 
such a degree that a trip to the United States 
was decided upon, and he came to this country 
determined to make a name for himself. He went 
to Detroit, Chicago and Milwaukee, but returned 
to Xew York, after an absence of six months, and 
started the nucleus of his present enormous en- 
terprise. It was only after the hardest kind of 
endeavor, close application, and the honorable 
methods he pursued, together with the high es- 
teem he attained, and in which he is now held, 
that his name has been brought into such prom- 
inence, that the company he heads is internation- 
ally preeminent. In 1873 he engaged in the man- 
ufacture and packing of fine groceries, operating 
along wholesale hues. In 1892 he organized the 
Marser Manufacturing Company, of which he is 



7(i SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



the president The company maintain an exten- 
sive plant at Mt. Vernon, X.Y., where sterling 
silver ware is manufactured, giving employment 
to over five hundred -killed workmen. The stores 
and showrooms are located on Fifth Avenue and 
Thirty-first Street, New York City, where the 
product is disposed of at wholesale and retail. In 

e organized the Max Ams Machine Com- 
pany, which he heads. Mr. Ams i- a director of 
the American Encaustic Tiling Company and has 
served in that capacity for the past twenty years. 
He was a director of the Riverside Bank for ten 
years, but his multifarious duties compelled him 
to resign that post. In 1003 he organized the 
Max Ams Reef and Fish Company, of which he 
;- its executive, and besides these interests he is 
a stockholder in various corporations. He is a 
member of the Arion Society and is affiliated 
with several societies and fraternal bodies. Mr. 
Ams was united in marriage on February 8, 1866, 
to Miss Louisa Stoltz (now deceased), and to 
this union were born eight children, four of whom 
have died. Those living are: Carl M.. Fred L., 
Fmil A. and Louisa Theresa, now Mr-. C. B. 
Smith of Boston, Mass. Mr. Ams has given his 
sons the benefit of his early training and is now- 
rewarded by being ably assisted by them in his 
various enterprises, thus relieving him of many 
heavy burdens; he is nevertheless seen regularly 
at his office every day and gives much of his 
time in further developing his large interests. 
< mce a year he goes abroad for recreation and 

in touch with all things of international 
importance; i- a great reader, and has a finely 
equipped library. 

JAMES SPEYER, banker and capitalist, was 
born in New York City, in 1861, the descendant 
of an old family of Frankfort-on-the-Main, 
known fur centuries for the broad spirit of phil- 
anthropy it ha- manifested and fur it- will di- 
I efforts in aiding those in need and in bet- 
tering the condition of the poor, a- well a- on 
account of tin- distinguished and prominent posi 
tion i' occupied in the commercial world. While 
the name of Spire. Spira or Speier appears in the 
chron ; cleS of Frankfort 011-th. Main a- early as 
the middle of the Fourteenth Century, the first 
member of the Speyer family concerning whom 
accurate data i- obtainable, ami of whom Mr. 
James Speyer 1- a direct descendant, was Michael 
r, who died in [686. An interesting illus- 
tration of tin- standing of die family, even a- far 
back a- 1792, 1- found in the fact that when in 
that year the French General Custine brought 
three leading citizens of Frankfort to Main/, as 
hostages for the payment of a war indemnity 



levied by Napoleon 1 on the city of Frankfort, one 
of them was the imperial court banker, Isaac 
Michael Speyer. An uncle of Mr. James Speyer, 
Philip Speyer, established the Speyer firm in Xew 
York in 1837. He was joined by his brother, 
Gustavus Speyer, the father of James Speyer, in 
1S45. In 1878 the firm name became Speyer & 
Co. After receiving his education in Frankfort- 
on the Main, Mr. Speyer at the age of twenty-two 
began his business career in bis father's banking 
house in that city. He then went to Paris and 
London, and in 1885 returned to Xew York, 
where he has since resided and is now the senior 
partner of the well known banking house of 
Speyer & Co., as well as a partner in the Frank- 
fort, London and Amsterdam house-. Mr. Speyer 
enjoys a high reputation in the world of finance, 
and Speyer & Co. have been connected with 
many of the most important financial underta- 
kings in relation to American railroads, and have 
acted as fiscal agents for the Mexican and Cuban 
Governments, etc. He is a director and trustee 
in the following corporations : Baltimore & Ohio 
Railroad Co., Rank of the Manhattan Company, 
Central Trust Company of Xew York. Citizen-' 
Savings & Trust Co. of Cleveland, Ohio. General 
Chemical Company, German Savings Bank, Gi- 
rard Trust Company of Philadelphia, Guarantee 
Trust Company of Xew York, Lackawanna Steel 
Company, Maryland Trust Company of Baltimore, 
Xorth British & Mercantile Insurance Co., Rock 
Island Company, Title Guarantee & Trust Co., 
Union Trust Company and Lndergroun 1 Electric 
Railways Company of London, Limited. He is 
also vice-president and director of the Societe Fi- 
nanciere Franco-Americaine. lie ha- taken a 
deep interest in public affairs as an independent 
and non-partisan citizen, especially in municipal 
li.uns. He was vice president and treasurer of 
i lie German-American Cleveland League in the 
Cleveland campaign of 1892, an active member of 
the Executive Committee of the Committee of 
Seventy, and a charter member of die Citizens' 

Union. In [896 he was appointed a member of 
the Hoard of Education by Mayor William L. 
Strong. He wa- a supporter of Mr. McKinley 

both in iNuO and 1000. and i- an ardent sup- 
porter of President Roosevelt, lie 1- active in 
charitable and educational affair-, and in fact in 
all movements which tend for the bettermenl of 
social conditions in general. Mr. Speyer was 
on,- of the founders and i- now president of the 
Providenl Loan Society. Me i- treasurer of the 
University Settlement Society and of the Peo- 
ple'- Symphonj Concert-, and i- connected with 

a number of other similar philanthropic 1 
among them being trustee of Teachers College, 




JACOB LANGELOTH. 



71 




WILLIAM SI BAS1 IAN S I I UK. 



72 




CHARLES PFIZER. 



73 




A. B. II KINK. 



74 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 75 



Hospital Saturday and Sunday Association, Isa- 
bella Heimath and the Mount Sinai Hospital. 
His charity knows no difference of race, creed 
or color. He has given large sums for educa- 
tional purposes, as for instance the building of 
the Speyer School, and was also the creator of the 
Theodore Roosevelt professorship at the Univer- 
sity of Berlin. Although not a clubman, Mr. 
Speyer is a member of the City, Manhattan, 
Players, Racquet, Reform, Lawyers, Lotos, Whist, 
City Midday, New York Yacht clubs and the 
Deutscher Verein. In November, 1897, Mr. Speyer 
married Ellin L. Prince (Mrs. John A. Lowery), 
daughter of the late John Dyneley Prince, who 
also takes an active part in charitable and philan- 
thropic work in New York. 

OTTO H. KAHN, banker and capitalist, was 
born at Mannheim in Germany on February 21, 
1867. His father was a banker at Mannheim, 
alderman of the city and knighted by the Grand 
Duke of Baden. His mother was Miss Eber- 
stadt of Worms, the daughter of the mayor of 
that city. Mr. Kahn was one of eight children, of 
whom several have distinguished themselves in 
various lines. His brother, Robert, is a composer 
of note and professor in the Royal Conserva- 
tory at Berlin ; another brother, Franz, has se- 
cured a reputation as a jurist of great ability. 
Mr. Kahn was educated in the gymnasium at 
Mannheim and after graduating attended lectures 
at Karlsruhe for three years. After finishing 
his education he entered the service of the London 
branch of the Deutsche Bank, where he remained 
for five years, rising from one position to another 
and acting during the last year as manager. In 
1893 he came to New York and entered the em- 
ploy of Speyer & Co., bankers. Since 1896 he 
has been a partner in the banking house of Kuhn, 
Loeb & Co. Mr. Kahn is not only widely known 
as an able and prominent financier but also 
through his connection with the arts and litera- 
ture. He is deeply interested in all matters con- 
nected with the higher life. As a director of 
the Metropolitan Opera House he has been es- 
pecially active and was instrumental in securing 
a new management when the present head of the 
enterprise decided to retire. It may, in fact, be 
said, that Mr. Kahn was the moving force that 
solved the difficulties arising from the situation, 
and placed opera in New York upon a new and 
satisfactory basis. He is also one of the found- 
ers and the most active promoters of the New 
Theater, an institution that is intended to present 
to America a theater similar to the famous "The- 
atre Frangais" in Paris. To Mr. Kahn's inde- 
fatigable activity, combined with practical busi- 



ness sense and literary knowledge of high charac- 
ter the fact is largely due that this enterprise was 
successfully launched, and that the city of New 
York will soon have a playhouse where the best 
classical and modern plays will be presented in a 
perfect way by a stock company, and where art 
in its highest sense will be fostered with the help 
of a school for dramatic art, an endowment fund, 
a pension fund for actors, and other institutions 
in keeping with the altruistic purpose of the enter- 
prise. In this as in other similar undertakings 
Mr. Kahn is moved solely by the desire to foster 
art and artistic ideals in the interest of the whole 
people and mankind in general. He is very fond 
of gentlemanly sports, such as riding, golfing, 
automobiling, yachting and coaching. An expert 
driver himself, he is often seen tooling his splen- 
did four-in-hand and has taken several ribbons in 
contests at horse shows. Mr. Kahn lives during 
six months of the year at Morristown, N.J., 
spends two months at his summer home on Up- 
per Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks and the re- 
mainder at his town house in Sixty-eighth Street, 
New York City. He is a member of the Eastern 
Yacht Club, Lotos, City, St. Andrews Golf, Mor- 
ristown Field, Lawyers' and City Midday clubs 
and of the Chamber of Commerce. He is also 
a large contributor to practically every charity 
worthy of support. On January 8, 1896, Mr. 
Kahn was married to Miss Addie Wolff, daugh- 
ter of one of the partners of the firm of Kuhn, 
Loeb & Co., and has four children : Maud Emily, 
Margaret Dorothy, Gilbert Wolff and Roger 
Wolff Kahn. 

HUGO WESENDONCK was born at Elber- 
feld, in Germany, on April 24, 1817, and received 
his education in the Gymnasium of his native 
city. After graduating, he studied law at the 
University of Bonn and later in Berlin, where 
he served as one year's volunteer in the Royal 
Rifles. Passing through all his examinations 
with great success, he worked for four years 
with the District Court at Elberfeld and finally 
established himself as attorney at Diisseldorf. 
His knowledge of the law and his ability as an 
advocate, rapidly brought him renown, and he 
was engaged in some of the most important cases 
of the period, among them the litigation of a 
large railroad company for the right of way, 
and the divorce suit of Countess Hatzfeld, known 
as the friend of Ferdinand Lassalle. The stir- 
ring times that preceded the revolution of 1848, 
when the German people rose to secure the liber- 
ties so long promised but denied them, found the 
young lawyer in the front rank of the movement. 
He was elected to the Prussian House of Rep- 



76 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



resentatives and to the German Parliament, 
which assembled at Frank fur t-on-the-Main, and 
was intended to formulate a constitution for the 
new German Empire. This body was forced to 
dissolve, its meeting place being surrounded by 
troops, and some of it- members, Mr. Wesen- 
donck among them, decided to continue their de- 
liberations at Stuttgart. Here their meetings 
were again prevented by force and the leaders 
were indicted for high treason. Mr. Wesendonck 
fled to Switzerland and later to Paris, but was 
tried in his absence and condemned to death. Af- 
ter a short sojourn in France, he emigrated to 
the United States and engaged in commercial 
pursuits in Philadelphia and New York City, the 
practise of law not appealing to him. But the 
real work of his life, with wh'ch his name will 
ever be connected, and which is a monumenl to 
hi- enterprise and sagacity, began in [860, when 
he founded, together with hi- friend. Friedrich 
Schwendler, the Gerniania Life Insurance Com- 
pany. Mr. Wesendonck believed that an institu- 
tion managed by Germans and conducted on < ■< r 
man principles of strictest honesty and economy, 
was nol only necessary, but would be eminently 
successful, and the future proved that he was 
right. The Germania Life was organized as a 
mutual company and some of the most prominent 
citizens of the city acted as directors, among 
them the mayor, the Prussian Consul and many 
hanker- and merchant-. The new company fell 
it- way carefully and preferred a slow hut sure 
growth to large and quick results accomplished 
by unsafe methods. It- business soon spread 

over the whole United State- and was extended, 

in 1868, to Europe Its headquarters are now in 
it- own building at No. 20 Nassau Street, New 
York, and the European business 1- conducted 
from their offices at Behrenstrasse 12, Berlin. In 
addition, the company own- a fine building in St. 
Paul, Minn. While it- growth has been very 

isful, it has continued to follow the sound 

and conservative principle- laid down by its 
founder, and was one of the few companies that 
weathered the insurance investigation in m^i 
without the discovery of a single flaw in man 
agement or policy. Mr Wesendonck belonged 
to that group of "Fortyeighters" thai brought so 
much idealism and love for beaut) in every field 
of human endeavor to this country. His early 
life had been passed al Dusseldorf, when thai 

city was the home of many arti-t- of note, and 

hi- home had been the gathering place for many 
men of genius. He continued these traditions in 
his new country, and every enterprise thai was 
started, to increase the taste for art, the love 
for the beautiful and the uplifting of the people, 



found in him a generous contributor. His name 
was connected with every movement in the in- 
terest of the German population, as well as the 
whole people from the time he landed on these 
-hole- until his life work was completed. His 
wife, whom he married in 1 S44 and who died be- 
fore him in [889, ablj assisted him and was the 
first president of the Women's Auxiliary of the 
German Hospital, when this institution was 
founded. Mr. Wesendonck died on December 
19, 1900, and left two sons and one daughter. 

HENRY EDEN.— Whal one may achieve by 
strict observance of concentrated purpose is bril- 
liantly illustrated in the career of one of New 
York's oldest and highest esteemed commercial 
men, Henry [den, who was always proud of the 
fact that he wa- of German nativity. lie was 
horn at Duvenstedt on November 1. [823. The 
village free school furnished his rudimentary ed- 
ucation, in fact it wa- the only tuition he ever 
boasted of. and during this period he lost no op- 
portunity to make the very he-t of the instruc- 
tion the institution offered, lie wa- about four- 
teen year- old when he sought employment and 
acting upon the first impulse his mind dictated, he 
turned hi- attention 10 the trade of wood carving. 
Finding tin- work congenial, he exerted all his 
energies to master every detail, and at the age of 
twenty-six he completed his apprenticeship and 
came to this country, lie settled on Baxter 
Street, at that time a rather substantial residen- 
tial section, and for a year or more pursued his 
chosen vocation with an earnestness that was 
characteristic. It was not long thereafter that 
hi- enterprising spirit a serted it-elf. The reali 
zation of hi- early ambition wa- materialized 
when in 1854 he started in business on hi- own 
account and established a thoroughly equipped 
-ix story furniture house at [94 [96 Hester 
Street. New York City, at that time the best 
building in that neighborhood. It was here he 

manufactured and -old hi- product. For -even- 
teen year- he operated this business ami wa- very 
successful. In [865 his mind turned toward a 
different channel, that of chandelier manufactur- 
ing. This wa- hi- firsl and only change during 
hi- whole busine - career, and it wa- a change 
for tlii' better. He realized this, after having 
looked over the new field and found it would be 
far more remunerative than the former. He im- 
mediately remodeled hi- building, the birthplace 
of hi- second enterprise, and installed everything 
hi- new venture would require, and again started 
with greater determination to realize his idea of 
a succes ful commercial life. Every year his 
industrj gained gradual strength and the day 




WILLIAM WICKE 




ABRAM JESSE DITTENHOEFER. 



79 




MICHAEL C GROSS. 



SI) 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 81 



finally came when a change of quarters was 
found necessary. It was in 1887 that Mr. Iden 
constructed the present building at Nos. 42 to 50 
University Place, and realizing the importance of 
a modern equipped plant, he spared no expense to 
make the new commercial home complete through- 
out. At the time of construction, this building 
was one of the largest in that section of New 
York, and, like the old Stewart Building, wa« 
an object of great interest to those visiting this 
city. To-day this building is a landmark of old 
New York, but containing everything modern 
for the manufacture of chandeliers, etc., and en- 
joying a patronage that extends all over this 
country. All the employees, through the excep- 
tional relationship that existed and still exists be- 
tween them and their employer, take a personal 
interest in furthering the prosperity of the com- 
pany. On July 2, 1849, Mr. Iden married Miss 
Christine Greve of Germany. Three children 
were born to this union, two sons and one daugh- 
ter, of whom Henry, Jr., is the sole survivor. 
On October 25, 1854, Mr. Iden was made an 
American citizen and began at once to take 
a great interest in the affairs of his adopted 
country. In politics he was a stanch Democratic 
supporter and his affiliation with that party con- 
tinued up to the time of his demise. He served 
in the Fifth Xew York State Militia and was 
honorably discharged August 12, 1862. Mr. Iden 
was a director of the old Third Avenue railroad 
company for many years and a director of the 
Union Square Bank, now the Corn Exchange 
Bank. He was not a club man, his leisure mo- 
ments being spent quietly at home with his fam- 
ily. He was a member of the Presbyterian 
Church. Mr. Iden was always the personifica- 
tion of energy. He was always busy, work and 
hard work was his pleasure. He always breathed 
good will and suggested mental, moral and physi- 
cal wholesomeness ; he had a dignity of manner 
and carriage that commanded respect and atten- 
tion and the ability to make people feel at ease 
was one of his greatest charms. He was gener- 
ous to a fault and his philanthropy was known 
to many deserving charities. Mr. Iden passed 
away at his home in Mount Vernon in 1903 and 
the vast interests he had built was left to the 
able administration of his son, Henry, Jr., who 
possesses many of his father's noble character- 
istics. The employees of Iden & Company, after 
the death of Mr. Iden, adopted resolutions of 
sympathy and presented them to his son, one of 
many tributes to a man of genuine sterling quali- 
ties. 



HENRY SIEGEL, merchant, was born at 
Eubigsheim, in Germany, on March 17, 1852, 
as the son of Lazarus, burgomaster of the town, 
and Zerlina Siegel. He received his education in 
the schools of his birthplace, but came to Amer- 
ica when but fifteen years of age and attended 
the night schools in Washington, D.C., to com- 
plete his education. Immediately after his arrival 
in this country, young Siegel found employment 
in a clothing store in Washington at a salary of 
three dollars and a half per week. Full of am- 
bition and determination to succeed, he devoted 
himself to his duties with such energy that he 
rose rapidly, and at the end of four years had 
been advanced to fifteen dollars weekly. In 1871 
he went to work for his brothers who had estab- 
lished a store at Parkersburg, Pa., and five years 
later, in 1876, removed to Chicago to start on his 
own account. He establi:hed the firm of Siegel, 
Hartsfeld & Co., cloak manufacturers, which was 
later on changed to Siegel Bros. While very suc- 
cessful in this venture, the real rise of Mr. Siegel 
began when he started, in 1889, in conjunction 
with Frank H. Cooper, a department store under 
the firm name of Siegel, Cooper & Co. This has 
been said to have been the first real modern de- 
partment store, and whether this is correct or 
not, the fact remains that the new firm intro- 
duced methods heretofore unknown, and rapidly 
became one of the great retail trading centers of 
the country. The business grew to such large 
proportions that the firm soon needed more com- 
modious quarters and erected the "Big Store" at 
State and Van Buren Streets, which was occu- 
pied in 1889. While this would have been suf- 
ficient for an ordinary man, Mr. Siegel's tre- 
mendous activity needed larger fields and in 1896 
another "Big Store" was erected in New York, at 
the corner of Sixth Avenue and Eighteenth Street, 
which revolutionized the retail business of the 
metropolis and forced other long-established con- 
cerns to change their methods completely. Some 
years later Mr. Siegel retired from the Siegel- 
Cooper Co. and purchased the old house of Simp- 
son, Crawford & Co., reorganizing the business 
completely and building up a large retail trade. In 
1904 he opened his Fourteenth Street store, on 
the old Macy site at the corner of Fourteenth 
Street and Sixth Avenue, and in 1905 he added 
the Henry Siegel Co. of Boston to his chain of 
retail stores. Mr. Siegel himself ascribes his 
success to hard work and persistency, but this is 
a rather modest statement. He is full of new 
ideas and constantly adds methods heretofore un- 
known. He is in constant touch with every de- 
partment and watches every development with the 
utmost care. As a characteristic illustration the 



82 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



fact may be mentioned thai Mr. Siege! <li<l away 
with the old method under which advertisements 

were written up by special writer- from infor- 
mation furnished by the heads of the different de- 
partments. Mr. Siegel held correctly that nobody 
could write a really good advertisement without 
having seen the merchandise and having formed 
an opinion as to it- qualities. He, therefore, in- 
sists that the advertisement writer- musl exam- 
ine the goods about which they are asked to write. 
A remarkable memory and the rare faculty of 
assembling a multitude of facts in his mind with- 
out ever getting them tangled have assisted this 
prince among retail merchants to carry on and 
bring to success business operations of a mag 
nitude that is truly appalling to the ordinary mind. 
His ideal i- to buy and distribute merchandise 
so economically that it may bring things hereto 
fore unattainable to the family of average means 
within the reach of all. And while this implies 
the reduction of expenses to the lowesl possible 

. Mr. Siegel understands fully that one of 
the greate-t dangers to a business of this kind lie- 
in the attempt to save in the compensation of 
the employee-, For their welfare he is most so 
licitous, and always ready to devise new means 
to help them. He furnishes them with free med- 
ical attention, and with good and nourishing food 

- than cost, and he assists their relief asso- 
ciation-, savings banks, etc. Above all, he is 

intly on the watch to find men and women 
who have earned the right to promotion and who. 
with a little help, may be started on the road to 
success. His solicitude in this direction may be 
surely designated as one of the reasons for his 
own success. Mr. Siegel was married twice, in 
[885 '" Miss Julia Rosenbaum of Chicago, who 
died in [886, and on April 25, t8g8, to Mr-. Marie 
an Wilde, the well known authoress. 

JUSTIN FREDERICK WILLIAM MOHR, 

n and coffee merchant, with extensive offices 

d in the New York Cotton Exchange build 

ing, i- a native of Bremen, Germany. For the 

pa-t forty-two year- Mr. Mohr ha- been a resident 

of New York City, where he ha- long been pop 

ular in the -elect Cierman circle-, lie i- a mem 

her and president of the German Club, the most 

IVC of it- kind in the country; he i- also 

a member of the New York Cotton Exchange, 

the New York > , director of the 

Mutual Alliance Trust Company and several other 

minor Organizations. In 1875 Mr. Mohr married 

Mi-- Clothilde Klein; the union ha- been I il 
with two children, one deceased and a daughter 
now married. Mr. Mohr has never been active in 
political life, nor has he ever desired or -ought 



public office. He is a gentleman of high culture 
and resides in a handsome apartment at Xo. 450 

West End Avenue, New York City. 

ERNST THALMANN, banker, was born in 

the Rhenish Palatinate. Germany, on June 19, 
[851, ami received hi- education at Mannheim. He 
came to America when seventeen years of age and 
engaged in the banking business, where his ability 
and wide knowledge of men and affairs soon se- 
cured for him a prominent position. As head of 
the well known banking house, Ladenburg, Thal- 
mann & Co., Mr. Thalmann has been identified 
with many of the most important financial trans- 
actions both here and abroad. He is chairman of 
the Board of Director- of the North American 
Exploration Co., Limited; vice-president and di- 
rector of the Birmingham & Atlantic Railroad 
and the United State- & llayti Telegraph & Cable 
Co.; trustee in the United States for the Frank- 
fort Transport, Glass & Accident Insurance Co., 
and the Munich Reinsurance Co.; trustee of the 
Aachen & Munich Fire Insurance Co.. the Ba- 
varian Mortgage & Exchange Bank of Munich, 
New York Trusl Co.; director of the Alliance 
Realtj ( a 1 . Centurj Realty Co., De La Vergne 
Machine Co., Lawyers' Mortgage Co., Mercantile 
National Bank, Mortgage bond Co., Omaha Water 
Co., United Railroad- Co. of San Francisco, 
Seaboard Air Line Railway. Realty Finance Co., 
Richmond Trust & Safe Deposit Co., United Rail- 
wax- Investment Co. of San Francisco, and the 
Van Norden Trust Co. Mr. Thalmann was mar- 
ried in December, [88l, to Mi-- Michaeli- and 
has two children. Edward b. and Raul Thalmann. 

LOUIS WINDMULLER, merchant, financier 

and author, wa- born in Westphalia, Germany, 
and received his education at Mun-ter in a gym- 
nasium founded by Charlemagne, He came to 
the United State- in [853 and ever since has been 
a residenl of New York City. Mr. Windmuller 
achieved business success and associated himself 
with financial institution-. He took part in 
founding the Title C.uarantee & 'Trust Co.. the 
German-American In- u ranee Co.. the Cierman Al- 
liance Insurance Co., the Maiden bane Savings 

bank, the Maiden Lane Safe Deposil Co., the 
South Manhattan Realty Co. and the Bond & 
Mortgage Guarantee Co. Mosl of these institu- 
tions he continue- to serve as director; he is 
president of the Maiden ban- Saving- bank. 

Mr. Windmulb-r ha- taken a deep interest in 
public affair-, especially in the advocacy of a 
sound currency, a purely revenue tariff and civil 
service reform, lb- ha- written many magazine 

and newspaper article- on these subjects and 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 85 



stands high as an authority on financial and 
economical questions. Amongst other magazine 
articles which have commanded attention are 
"History of Encyclopedias" and "Pleasures of 
City Pedestrians" in the Review of Reviews; 
"The Art of Drinking" and "A Plea for Parks" 
in the Forum; "Food That Fails to Feed" and 
"Disposal of the Dead" in the North American 
Review. He has written articles for the Out- 
look, Harper's Weekly and numerous daily pa- 
pers. Practically every movement for public im- 
provements of one kind or another has found i 1 1 
him an enthusiastic and indefatigable supporter. 
Of the many associations with which he is identi- 
fied the following may be named : the Cham- 
ber of Commerce, in which lie was chairman of 
the Committee on Internal Trade and Improve- 
ments, the Executive Committee for the im- 
provement of the state canals, as member of 
which he worked successfully for the amendment 
of the Constitution, which made that improve- 
ment possible; the Business Men's Relief Com- 
mittee and the Board of Trade, in which he is a 
managing director. He is also interested in a 
number of charitable institutions, being treas- 
urer and director of the Legal Aid Society, which 
furnishes gratuitous advice to the ignorant 
needy without regard to nationality. Of his ser- 
vices in behalf of charity his efforts for the ben- 
efit of the German Hospital Fair in 1888 de- 
serve especial mention. In connection with this 
affair Mr. Windmuller arranged a collection of 
paintings and a souvenir containing autobio- 
graphical contributions from the best American 
and German authors. He is known as an art 
connoisseur and collector of paintings and books. 
He was also treasurer of a fund for the erection 
of a monument to Goethe and vice-president of 
the Heine Monument Society. Mr. Windmuller 
is connected with many clubs, among them the 
Merchants, German, Lotos, Underwriters, New 
York Athletic and Arion, the Metropolitan Mu- 
seum of Art, the Germanistic and the New York 
Historical Society, of which he is a life mem- 
ber. Few of the German merchants in New York 
City have been so closely identified with the life 
of the nation during the last fifty years, in all 
of its manifestations, in politics as well as in 
the development of the arts, literature and char- 
itable undertakings of every kind. 

LUDWIG NISSEN, merchant, was born at 
Husum, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, on De- 
cember 2, 1855. He is descended, on his father's 
side, from the great Danish statesman, George 
Nicolaus von Nissen, and on his mother's side 
from the old noble family of von Dawartzky. 



Mr. Nissen was educated in the common schools 
of his native town and afterwards became a clerk 
in the Imperial Court. Recognizing that the op- 
portunities for advancement were very limited 
and could not satisfy his ambition, he emigrated 
to the United States and arrived here in 1872 
with two dollars and a half in his possession. 
But the determination to succeed was in him, he 
accepted the first position that was offered to 
him, and worked for four months in a barber- 
shop as porter and bootblack. He then worked 
as dishwasher in a hotel on Dey Street, where 
his ability was recognized by the proprietor, who 
made him first a waiter, then bookkeeper and 
finally cashier. Mr. Nissen then sought and 
found a clerkship in a factory but the firm failed 
and he lost his position. He had saved some 
money and decided to go into business for him- 
self, but the next five years brought him nothing 
but a varied though withal valuable experience. 
He tried the butcher business for a while with- 
out succeeding, started a restaurant and sold it 
again, invested the proceeds, five thousand dol- 
lars, in the wholesale wine business and lost it 
all within nine months, being in debt for one 
thousand dollars in addition. This did not dis- 
courage him. He made the acquaintance of a 
diamond cutter, who carried on a small shop, but, 
like himself, had more debts than assets. Mr. 
Nissen went into partnership with him, under 
the firm name of Schilling & Nissen, and quick- 
ly mastered the details of the business. He was 
so successful in selling the goods his partner 
manufactured that the firm soon prospered. Its 
name was later changed to Ludwig Nissen & 
Co., and the firm drifted from diamond setting 
to diamond importing. Five years after the 
partnership had been formed Mr. Nissen bought 
out his partner and formed a new partner- 
ship, the firm name remaining the same. The 
house is now one of the best known and most 
prominent in its line, in spite of the fact that it 
is comparatively young. Mr. Nissen's energy has 
by no means been confined to his business. He 
has taken an active interest in public affairs, his 
intelligent treatment of public questions and his 
strong character making a deep impression upon 
all who have come in contact with him. He has 
been identified with almost every movement in- 
augurated for the general welfare, and the bet- 
terment of conditions in municipal affairs as 
well as the government of the state and nation. 
Many honors have been offered to him, some of 
which he was compelled to decline, bearing tes- 
timony to his high standing in the community and 
the appreciation of his character and services 
by his fellow citizens. He has been president of 



86 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



the New York Jewelers' Association, the Manu- 
facturers' Association of New York and the 
Brooklyn League. He i- vice-president of the 
Oriental Bank, a trustee of the Dime Savings 
Bank of Brooklyn and of Adelphi College, a di- 
rector of the Board of Trade and Transportation, 
First National Bank of Jamaica and Guardian 
Trusl Co., and member of the Chamber of Coni- 
merce of New York. In 189.' he was chairman 
of the committee representing the jewelry trade 
which went to Albany to obtain a larger appro- 
priation for the World'- Fair exhibit of the Em- 
pire State, the other members being C. L. Tif- 
fany and Joseph Fahys. He served as member 
and treasurer of the Brooklyn Commission to 
the Tennessee Centennial Exposition at Nash- 
ville in 1897, and was appointed a member of the 
Jury of Award- in the Department of Commerce 
and Manufactures. In 1808 Governor Black ap- 

:d him one of the commissioners of the 
state of Xew York to the Paris Exposition of 
lOOO, and he was later elected treasurer, lie is 
also one of the incorporators and trustee- of the 
Hudson-Fulton Celebration Commission by the 

i the Legislature of New York. Mis polit 
ical activity has been pronounced. He served on 
the Brooklyn Citizen-' Committee of Fifty, or- 
ganized for the establishment of non-partisanship 
in municipal affairs, in 1897, and was nominated 
for the office of president of the Council of 
Greater New York, but declined. In 1898 he 
took an active part in the formation of the Brook- 
lyn League, designed to protect the interests of 
Brooklyn under the new charter. On his return 
from Europe in 1000 he was mel by his friends 
on a special chartered tug and given a reception 
at tb<' Brooklyn Club, being Strongly urged to 
accept a nomination for Congress, but declined. 
In the same year and in i<x>i he took a lively 
part in the event- which led to the fusion of 
the elements opposed to Tammany, and was of- 
fered the nomination as controller: his name waj 
also presented to the conference committee as » 
suitable choice for mayor, but he refused to ac- 
cept either office He also refused an appoint- 
ment offered to him by Mayor Wuster of Brook- 
lyn in 1896, to become a membei of his cabinet 
but accepted the position of member of the Civil 

Service Commission When, in [903, Mayor 
Low offered to make him chairman of the 
Brooklyn Change of Grade Commission, he like- 
declined. < >n the other hand his growth 
in purely business matter- has been constant, 
for, when, 1 a result of the revelations made 
during the life insurance companies investigations 
a few years ago, the Equitable Life Assurance 
ty concluded to do some house cleaning and 



undergo a thorough reorganization, he was 
elected one of its new directors. The public 
functions at which Mr. Nissen has presided, or 
in which he took an important part, are innu- 
merable. In addition he has never ceased tc 
work for the advancement of his own trade ; in 
iSod, he delivered a lecture on "Gems and Jew- 
els" before the Manufacturers' Association of 
Kings and Queens Counties, which was published 
in the Jewelers' Circular and widely copied in 
France, Germany and England as well as in this 
country. No better illustration of the oppor- 
tunities this country extends to a man of high 
character, ambition and intelligence can be fur- 
nished than the remarkable career of Ludwig 
Nissen, who landed in Xew York less than forty 
years ago practically penniless, and who is now 
not only a citizen of high standing and repute in 
consequence of his material success, but who has 
left his impress upon many of the most important 
events in the history of his new country, and 
whose counsel and assistance are eagerly sought 
by the best element among native Americans. 

HENRY HEIDE, manufacturer, was born at 
( Ibermarsberg in Westphalia, Germany, on Oc- 
tober 24, 1846, and received his education in the 
elementary school of his birthplace. He came 
to America in 1866 and established himself as 
manufacturer of confectionery and almond paste. 
Starting on a small scale, his plant is now one of 
the largest in its line in the United States, and 
his goods are known and sold all over this coun- 
try, Canada, Europe and Australia. A man of 
striking personal appearance and of genial dis- 
position, Mr. Heide is one of the most widely 
known and generally esteemed Germans of Xew 
York City. Mis business, grown to large pro- 
portion-, i- a monument to his enterprise, indus- 
try and intelligence. He is a member of the 

Church of the Holy Sacrament, German Licder- 

kranz, Arion, the Catholic and Chemist clubs. 

Mr. Heide married on January 28, 1873, Miss 
Mary Jaeger and has eighl children. 

\D\M WEBER, architect, builder and manu- 
facturer, was born at Bechtheim, near Worms on 
the Rhine, in the Grand Duchy of Hessen- 
Darmstadt, in [825, He received his education 
in the schools of his native city and was appren 
ticed at an early age to his father, who was an 
architect and builder. When he reached his ma- 
jority, the qualities which were to make him one 
of the prominent figures in the city of Xew York 
and, in fact, in the United State-, manifested 

themselves. Il<- fell that the opportunities he 
longed for would be denied t<> him in the nar- 




ERNST THALMANN. 



87 




HI KM \\ A. MIT/. 



ss 




EDWARD LAUTERDACH. 



89 




LEOPOLD STERN. 



90 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS, 91 



row circle of a small German town, and he de- 
cided to emigrate to America. In 1847 he sailed 
from Liverpool in the fnll-rigged ship Columbus, 
then making her maiden voyage, and landed at 
the Battery wharf with a small supply of money, 
but full of ambition and determination. He 
found employment with a local architect and 
builder, and the thorough training he had re- 
ceived, together with exceptional intelligence, 
quickly made him a valuable assistant. Hardly 
two years had elapsed when Mr. Weber decided 
to strike out for himself, fully convinced that 
he would succeed. In this he was not mistaken, 
for the knowledge and rectitude of the young 
builder were immediately appreciated. The con- 
tracts he received were large and numerous, and 
he built all the sugar refinery houses that were 
erected and operated by the Havemeyer family in 
New York, Brooklyn and Jersey City. In 1854 
he erected for Mrs. Anna Uhl the first building 
the Nezv Yorker Staats-Zeitung occupied, at No. 
224 William Street, and three years later he 
built the second home for the Staats-Zeitung at 
No. 17 Chatham Street, the site of which is now 
occupied by the Manhattan terminal of the 
Brooklyn Bridge. In the meantime Mr. Weber 
had become interested in the manufacture of 
firebrick and erected the first large firebrick fac- 
tory in the United States, in partnership with 
Mr. Balthasar B. Kreischer, the firm name being 
Kreischer & Weber. This concern was dissolved 
in 1857, and the succeeding firm of Maurer & 
Weber constructed the largest firebrick factory 
in the country at that time in New York City, 
on East Fifteenth and Sixteenth Streets, be- 
tween Avenues B and C. It covered an entire 
block and the plant included one of the largest 
chimneys in the city. It stands erect to-day and 
is familiarly known as the Weber landmark, a 
point of guidance to many thousands of navi- 
gators of the East River, who took their reck- 
onings from it to steer clear of the dangerous 
rocks that lined the shores of its turbulent tides. 
But his ever active mind was not satisfied with 
what he had accomplished, and always looked 
out for new fields to conquer. In 1858 his in- 
timate knowledge of fireclays and their refrac- 
toriness brought forth the idea of constructing 
a clay retort to supersede the iron type of re- 
torts then almost universally used in gas works. 
Innumerable objections were raised when he first 
promulgated his theory, but he overcame them 
all and succeeded beyond his greatest expecta- 
tions. Within a few years Mr. Weber's retorts 
were adopted by practically all the gas works in 
America and Europe, and the returns from their 
sales made the man who had arrived almost pen- 



niless a little more than ten years before, a wealthy 
man. ' Many other inventions followed; Mr. 
Weber patented a number of forms of design in 
bench work and furnace construction, among 
them the Weber half-depth and full-depth recu- 
perative systems. He personally installed the 
bench work in the generating houses of the New 
York Gas Company, the Manhattan Gas Co., the 
Metropolitan Gas Light Co., the Mutual Gas 
Light Co., the Municipal Gas Co. and the Knick- 
erbocker Gas Co. In fact, wherever gas works 
construction was under way, Mr. Weber's name 
was almost sure to be connected with it, and to 
enumerate the places of his activity would re- 
quire the naming of almost every city of im- 
portance in the United States. His fame ex- 
tended far over the boundaries of the country, 
Cuba, South America, Mexico, and even far-away 
China and Japan used his inventions. In addi- 
tion, he invented an advanced lime process for 
the elimination of carbonic acid from gas, and 
it may be said without fear of contradiction that 
Mr. Weber revolutionized the methods of man- 
ufacturing gas. In 1890 he partly retired from 
active business, for in that year the corporation 
of Adam Weber's Sons was formed which car- 
ried on the business of the great factories con- 
structed by the founder in the town of Weber, 
Middlesex County, N.J., known everywhere as a 
model establishment and surrounded by hamlets, 
also laid out and owned by Mr. Weber, which 
shelter hundreds of workmen. The oldest son, 
Oscar B. Weber, who, unfortunately, died sud- 
denly in September, 1004, became president, and 
the second son, Albert J., vice-president of the 
corporation. Adam Weber was preeminently a 
man of resourcefulness, hard work and success. 
Practical knowledge, acquired by observation and 
study, was most happily associated in him with 
the ardent desire to overcome obstacles and 
solve problems that makes the inventor. To few 
men has come success so widely appreciated and 
so free from envy as to him, for the question 
never arose whether it was deserved. A lover 
and connoisseur of good music, widely traveled 
and well read, w'th a refined taste for art, his 
influence worked ever for the best. One of the 
pioneers among the Germans of New York City, 
not one of the thousands who left the fatherland 
to seek success in the new country, has brought 
greater honor upon his native and his adopted 
country. He was a member of the American Gas 
Light Association and the Pacific Coast Gas As- 
sociation ; the American Engineers' Club, German 
Liederkranz, Arion, Lotos and Manhattan clubs ; 
a founder of the German Society, member of the 
former Palette Club; a director of the Ger- 



92 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



mania. German Exchange, Union Square and 
Corn Exchange Bank, the Trust Company of 
America, the Independent [ce Co. and one of 
the largest shareholders of the Consolidated Gas 
Co. He was also a noted Mason and Past 
Grand Master of Trinitv Lodge No. u, with 
which Mr. Weber contributed wore legion, He 
tury. The benevolent and charitable societies to 
which Mr. Weber contributed were legion. He 
took an active interest in public affairs, and dur- 
ing hi- long connection with the Board of Edu- 
cation it was his persistence and zeal that se- 
cured the introduction of the teaching of German 
in the public schools of New York. For hi- work 
in this connection he received a letter of thanks 
from Emperor William 1. and a decoration of 
high order. He was captain of the Engineer 
Corps of the militia from [852 to i860, and 
served in the Fifth Infantry during the War of 
the Rebellion. His home was Idled with art 
treasures and he was happiesl when he could 
assemble his numberless friends within its hos- 
pitable walls where they had the opportunity to 
listen to the greatesl and besl singers and musi 
cians. A stanch Democrat, he could on occasion 
forsake his party when it traveled road- which 
he considered dangerous. Mr. Weber died Do 
cember _'_', 1906. He was married on April u. 
1858, to Miss- Catherine Elizabeth Kreischer, 
daughter of the late Balthasar 1'.. Kreischer of 
Kreischerville, S.I . who. together with four chil- 
dren, Lina A., Mathilde E., Charles C. and Al- 
bert J., and a grandchild. Frances L., survive 
him. The large attendance at the funeral and the 
innumerable letter- and despatches of condolence 
from all part- of the world formed a testimonial 
of tl; teem felt for him wherever he 

wa- known. lie certainly was a man of men, 
grand in more than one respect, and in him dwelt 
strength and resourcefulness, beautifully tem- 
pered by that charity which assists without inflict 
ing regret, and to hi- home ami it- treasures he 
wa- a guardian animated solely by the spirit that 
move- those whose loving carr i- the great lighl 
of their live-. 

CAPTAIN J B. GREENHUT— What energy, 
intelligence and perseverance maj accomplish i- 
illustrated in the life of Captain J B Greenhut, 
now one of tin- leading merchant- in the Uni 
ted St.it' - Born in the town of Bischof Teinitz 
in Bohemia on February 28, 1843, his parents 

brought him to America in [852 and settled in 

Chicago Young Greenhut had to go out into 
the world early, like -o many of those who in 
later years have rerched prominence, He learned 

the trade of a tin and coppersmith thorough!} 



and wa- employed in quite a number of im- 
portant establishments, the last one being the 
shops of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad in Mobile, 
Ala. The genius slumbering in the hoy mani- 
fested itself early; he wa- not satisfied with 
doing the work laid out for him, hut made sev- 
eral valuable inventions, among them a new 
Style of roof for railroad car- which is -till in 
use. Extensive travels and a sojourn of two 
years in the South had hrought him face to 
face with the great question of the day, tin- 
es il- of slavery. Already on the road to success, 
though not yet out of hi- teens, the idealism he- 
had hrought with him did not let him pursue 
the course that might have hrought material suc- 
cess quickly. When Abraham Lincoln, after the 
fall of Fort Sumter, issued hi- first call for vol- 
unteer-. \oung Greenhut concluded at once that 
it was his duty to tight for humanity and the 
preservation of the Union. On April 17. 1861, 
he enlisted as a private in Company A. Twelfth 
Illinois Volunteers, his being the second name 
on the enlistment rolls in the big city of Chicago. 
And he did not propose to play at being a sol- 
dier. As soon as his term of three months was 
ended, he enlisted anew for three years and was 
made drill sergeant of his company. He served 
under General Grant and was severely wounded 
in the arm at the storming of Fort Donelson. 
This compelled him to take his honorable dis- 
charge, hut not for long, for his wound had hard- 
ly been healed when he went to the front again. 
this time as captain of Company EC, Eight) sec 
ond Illinois Volunteers. Hi- regiment was com- 
manded by that old German revolutionist, Col 
onel Frederick Hecker, and assigned to the 
division of General Carl Schurz, then in Vir- 
ginia. Mere the youthful captain saw some 
severe lighting. lie was in all the hattles of 
the Army of the Potomac in iS(>j and ISO,?, in- 
cluding Fredericksburg, the unfortunate affair 
at Chancellorsville, where the German troops 
saved tin Federal Army, and Gettysburg. Soon 
after hi- regiment was transferred to the West 
to relieve General Rosecrans and Colonel Hecker 

wa- given the conunmand of a brigade in 
Schurz's division, whereupon he selected the 
young and brave captain a- hi- chef of staff. As 
such he kept close to the enemy. After the mid- 
night battle at the Wauhatchee, near Chattanoo- 
ga, he engaged in all the lights in that neigh 

borhood, the taking of Missionary Ridge and 
Lookout Mountain, the "Battle Above the 

(loud-."' a- it ha- been called, and in the cam- 
paign to relieve General Ihirn-idc at Knoxville, 

I rim. In [864, when the war neared it- end 

1 Hecker had some disagreement with hi- 




JUSTIN FREDERICK WILLIAM MOHR. 



93 




Hi GO WESENDONCK 



94 




AUGUST GOERTZ. 



95 




ADOLPH ROTHBARTH. 



96 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 97 



superiors and resigned. The faithful chief of 
his staff considered it his duty to follow his 
commander. Mr. Greenhut returned to his first 
love and occupied himself with the invention of 
a number of mechanical devices. Many of them 
were valuable and successful, especially an auto- 
matic twine-binder for reaping machines, which 
was adopted by the McCormick Reaper Co., and 
is still in use. But this field was too small for 
the enterprising and restless young man ; he did 
his duty as a citizen and took part in the efforts 
to improve the administration of the city of 
Chicago. An appointment to the important of- 
fice of deputy county clerk for Cook County 
was the well merited reward. However, the fer- 
tile mind turned to larger fields. In 1869 he en- 
gaged in the distilling business and conducted it 
with unprecedented success until 1895. Assisted 
by his practical experience, he saw at once where 
savings and improvements could be introduced, 
and erected the largest distillery in the world 
at Peoria, 111. The Distilling and Cattle Feed- 
ing Co., organized in 1887 with a capital of thir- 
ty-five millions of dollars, was the child of his 
brain. This company, comprising practically all 
the large distilleries in the country, had been 
planned by Mr. Greenhut with the greatest care 
and foresight, and became the forerunner of 
many similar consolidations, none of which, how- 
ever, proved more successful. Still there was an 
immense amount of work connected with his 
management, and while its founder was in the 
flower of manhood and in the fullest possession 
of his strength and faculties, he looked around 
for a more peaceful occupation. This he found 
in the East, where, in 1896, he bought an inter- 
est in the Siegel-Cooper Company, which had 
undertaken to build the, largest department store 
in Xew York. He acquired the control of this 
business in 1901 and became its president, while 
his son, B. J. Greenhut, was made secretary and 
treasurer. In 1906 he bought the site and store 
formerly occupied by B. Altman & Co., a new 
and modern building, and opened this in the 
fall of 1907 as a department store conducted on 
the lines which had brought success to Mr. Alt- 
man. The lad who started out to carve his own 
fortunes with no assistance than his strength 
of purpose, the gifts his Creator had bestowed 
upon him and the teachings of devoted parents, 
became a master of men and took part in the 
shaping of the destiny of his country in peace 
and war. A life full of hard work and honest 
endeavor but also rich in the fruits that fall to 
those who justly succeed, is that of Captain J. B. 
Greenhut. Mr. Greenhut was married in 1866 
to Miss Clara Wolfner at Chicago, and their 



union was blessed with four children, of whom 
one daughter, Fannie, and two sons, B. J. and 
N. W., are living. He retains his residence at 
Peoria, where he spends much of his time, for 
his large interests in and around the city in 
which he laid the foundation for his fortune re- 
quire his constant supervision. 

MARC EIDLITZ. — The American has unlim- 
ited admiration for the self-made man — the man 
who achieves success by his own effort through 
strength of character and indomitable power of 
will. But in judging men who have come to 
the front the American is apt to overlook the 
fact that the foreigner who arrives at these 
shores without a knowledge of the language and 
the customs of the people, who has no friends 
or relatives to guide him and who must, there- 
fore, blaze his own path in a wilderness, has a 
much heavier task to accomplish than any na- 
tive. If such a man not only succeeds but be- 
comes a leader in his chosen field, all honor 
is due him. A man of this kind was Marc 
Eidlitz, one of America's foremost builders. He 
was born in Prague, the capital of Bohemia, on 
January 31, 1826. • After attending the common 
schools it became necessary for him to earn his 
own living and he secured employment in a mer- 
cantile establishment. In 1847 his father died and 
the young man immediately departed for Amer- 
ica to find the larger sphere for which he felt 
himself fitted. His courage and purpose was 
shown by his decision to acquire all the details 
in connection with the best work and he began 
by apprenticing himself to a mason builder for 
a term of four years. The full weight of this 
step can only be appreciated when it is kept in 
mind that young Eidlitz had already reached his 
majority and had never done manual labor. Such 
was his zeal and so energetically did he apply 
himself to his self-appointed task, supplementing 
his daily toil by work during the evening hours, 
that before the expiration of his term of ap- 
prenticeship, he was given a position as foreman 
in charge of a building. A few years later, in 
1854, he started in business for himself with a 
capital of ten dollars. But he was by this time 
well known and his integrity and reliability 
brought him many new friends. In 1857, when 
barely thirty-one years old, he was selected to 
build the Broadway Tabernacle, for a long time 
one of the largest churches in New York. The 
stonework for this building was brought from 
the quarries and actually cut at the site. Shortly 
afterwards he erected the Lord & Taylor Build- 
ing on Grand Street, for a generation one of the 
landmarks of the city; Steinway Half on Four- 



98 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



teenth Street, which for many years was the 
principal concert hall of this city. His reputa- 
tion was now firmly established and the city he 
had made his home soon became filled with the 
fruits of his labor. Among the more important 
buildings he built are: The German Hospital, 
yterian Hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital, St. 
Francis Hospital, Baldwin Pavilion of the Wo- 
men's Hospital, Home of the Si-ters of Bon Se- 
cours, German Dispensary and Library, Isabella 
Heimath, Metropolitan Opera House, Eden Mu- 

irt of Astor Library, Seamen's Bank for 
Savings, Gallatin Bank, Temple Emanuel, Ger- 
man Club, .Manhattan Storage and Warehouse, 
stores for Arnold, Constable & Co., Lord & Tay- 
lor. Le Boutillier Brothers, residences of J. Pier- 
ponf Morgan, Adrian Iselin, Jr., Ogden Goelet, 
Robert L. Stuart, Charles Moran, Peter Doelger 
and many others. But the enormous respon- 
sibilities and the concentration required by his 
business did not fully absorb the energies of 
Marc Eidlitz. He became a pathfinder in yet 
another direction, for he was instrumental in 
forming the National Association of Builders, 
an organization intended to give stability to the 
Building Trades in uniting those engaged in them 
and by adjusting disputes by arbitration. Mr. 
Eidlitz was. up to the time of his death, the 
president of the Building Trades Club of New 
York City, and a director as well as chairman 
of the General Committee of the National Asso- 
In 1873 be w; i s elected a director of the 
Germania Bank, and in 1888 he became its pres- 
ident, holding this position until his death. His 
manifold and arduous duties did nol prevent him 
from taking active interest in many enterprises 
of a charitable or philanthropic character. He 
contributed to every worthy object that was laid 
before him and showed especial interest in edu- 
cational matters, never forgetting the hardships 
of lii- early youth, and for 1 1 n - reason ever ready 

isi young men who were similarly situated. 

When he passed away, on April 15. 1892, this 

man. who. through hi- own efforts, had devel 
oped from a friendless hoy into a successful man 
with a national reputation, left innumerable 

friend- ami admirer-. His name i- perpetuated 
by the work he ha- done and which i- being con 
tinued by hi- -on.. Otto Marc an. I Robert James, 

who were hi- a--.1ci.1te-. 

GEi >RGE I I IK I- I. brewer, was born at Hof 
n.ar Offenburg, in Baden, on April <,, 
1835, and received his education in the public 
schools of hi- birthplace \t the age of 

teen lie wa- apprt -in iced to his father, a thriv 

ing cooper at Hofweier. Here he worked for 



several year- until he had mastered his trade, but 
during all that time tried to induce his father to 
allow him to learn the brewing business which 
seemed even to so young a man more promising. 
Finally his wish prevailed and he wa- placed as 
an apprentice into a brewery at Offenburg. He 
quickly acquired a thorough knowledge of his 
new trade and, after the custom of those time-, 
started out to perfect himself by working in 
other breweries. The first stop wa- made at 
Heidelberg, and after that young Ehret worked 
for some time at Mannheim. Convinced by the 
reports of a cousin that he would find a larger 
field and greater opportunities in America, he de- 
cided to emigrate to the United States and ar- 
rived in Xew York on November jo. 1857. He 
found no difficulty in securing employment, and 
worked at first for the firm of Romell & Co., 
and later on in the Anton Hiipfel brewery. 
Within the short space of three years he had 
risen to the responsible position of foreman and 
brewmaster. But even this rapid advancement 
did not satisfy a man of the ambition, knowledge 
and force of character like Mr. Ehret. 11 is aim 
was to become independent and in 1866 he started 
his own brewery in the neighborhood of Hell- 
gate, from which it was given the name Hell- 
gate Brewery. Mr. Ehret had himself selected 
the spot which was at that time far uptown 
and removed from the built-up portion of the 
city, and there were many who looked upon the 
location as unwise, but he knew what he was 
.loin;.;-, for he had found there what proved to 
be of the greatest value, namely water of the 
quality needed for his purposes. The growth of 
the new firm was astonishing and it soon dis- 
tanced all competitors, in spite of some serious 
setbacks, as for instance a disastrous fire in 1S70. 
'I'he enormous establishment produce- now close 
to eight hundred thousand barrel- yearly, em- 
ploys over live hundred men and uses over two 
hundred drays, thirty of which are electric 
trucks. It i- equipped with the best and most 
modern machinery, for Mr. Ehret is one of those 
men who seem to be able to look clearly into 
the future and is ready to adopt every improve- 
ment a- so,, n as it- value i- proven. When the 

brewing industry, which bad long been carried on 
on rather primitive lines, was revolutionized by 

the introduction of modern business methods, Mr. 
I lire! wa- one of the first to reorganize his es- 
tablishment. Personally, Mr. Eh re I i- quiet and 
unassuming and hi- greal modest) prevents him 

from taking the position in public life which his 
achievement- and his immense popularity enti- 
tle him to. He prefers to distribute the large 

-11111- he devote- to charitv and other underta- 




HENRY IDEN. 



99 




FRAN i. 



111!) 




WILLIAM KEUFFEL. 



101 




I II l ODORE i I.I'M ENS HEITEMEYER 



l«i2 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 103 



kings for the general welfare, in a quiet way, and 
is averse to notoriety in every respect. A great 
lover of music and a musician himself since his 
childhood days, he finds recreation in listening 
to the very best the art has produced, and his 
highly refined taste is well known to music lov- 
ers. In 1866 Mr. Ehret married Miss Anna 
Hasslocher, who died in 1899 and left him nine 
children, of whom the two sons, George, Jr., 
and Louis, take an active part in the manage- 
ment of his brewery. 

ALBERT FRANK.— The career of Mr. Albert 
Frank is remarkable in more ways than one, 
though it may be summed up in the statement 
that it was the natural career of a truly remark- 
able man. He was born in Breslau, the capital 
of the Prussian province of Silesia, in 1831, but 
received his education at Berlin, whither his par- 
ents had removed soon after his birth. When 
hardly more than a boy, Albert Frank left his 
home to enter the employ of Baron Felleisen, 
the head of the banking-house of Felleisen & Co., 
bankers to the Russian Crown at St. Petersburg. 
In his capacity as secretary to Baron Felleisen, 
he came in contact with many prominent people, 
traveled extensively and had the opportunity to 
use a pronounced gift of acquiring foreign lan- 
guages. While still a young man, he had a good 
knowledge of Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and 
spoke eight modern languages fluently. His love 
for art had been kindled in his home, where he 
had been surrounded by everything that culture 
and refinement could procure. In his new field 
this trait of his character grew stronger and ex- 
panded and when he, several years later, joined 
his uncle in the publishing business at Paris, the 
art treasures of the French capital found in him 
an appreciative and critical admirer. But among 
all the arts music appealed to him most, and an 
unerring taste combined with deep feeling for 
the beautiful made him a master in judging and of 
enjoying whatever was brought forth. Towards 
the end of the sixties Albert Frank came to New 
York and established himself as a banker and 
gold broker. But he soon abandoned this field 
to enter a new one, or, more correctly, to cre- 
ate an entirely new business. His thorough 
knowledge of the banking and of the publishing 
business led him to perceive that financial ad- 
vertising was done without system, and he set 
about to introduce reforms beneficial to the ad- 
vertiser as well as to the press. His firm, oper- 
ating under various names as the partners 
changed but best known by the last and still ex- 
isting one of Albert Frank & Co., was much more 
than an advertising agencv. It acted as adviser 



and general publicity agent for the advertisers 
and kept in close touch and almost familiar re- 
lations with all the great newspapers. This is 
best proven by the fact that the press of the 
whole country, separately and through its vari- 
ous organizations, at the news of his death has- 
tened to assure the surviving relatives of the 
high esteem in which Mr. Frank had been held, 
and the deep -regret felt at his departure. He 
did more than any one man to raise the stand- 
ard of the advertising agent ; an advertisement 
given out by Albert Frank & Co. was not only 
taken everywhere without question but was in the 
nature of a certificate of respectability for the 
newspaper printing it. No wonder that the firm 
was immensely successful, and that its reputation 
became world-wide. Albert Frank was thus a 
self-made man in the highest sense of the word. 
He succeeded not only through his own efforts 
and by the intelligent use of the education he had 
received in school and in early life, but also by 
creating something entirely new and hitherto not 
thought of. He perceived that there existed a 
necessity for a new way of handling financial 
advertisements, and he conceived the methods 
that could bring about a change. He put them 
into practise and the success was the fruit of his 
genius. He therefore stands before us, as far as 
his business activity is concerned, as one of the 
best and noblest representatives of the multitudes 
who have come from Germany to help make this 
country greater and better. But aside from this 
he was a most remarkable man. His appearance 
was striking, almost commanding, but softened 
by an air of refinement and a warmth that re- 
vealed the man of the world in the very best 
sense of the word ; the man who would be at 
home anywhere and would be recognized as ex- 
ceptional wherever he went. The friendly glow 
of his eye did not belie the heart, for Albert 
Frank was full of charity and always ready to 
help. He did not belong to many clubs, but to a 
large number of charitable organizations. His 
tastes were rather domestic ; the company of his 
daughters who had lost their mother early, a 
good book or a discussion of an interesting sub- 
ject with a few friends of similar erudition 
gave him happiness. He was an extensive reader 
and hardly a book appeared in any of the im- 
portant modern languages that he did not at least 
examine. His knowledge of the literature of 
the civilized countries was marvelous but sur- 
passed by his familiarity with musical works of 
every description. He knew the scores of whole 
operas by heart and was a regular attendant at 
every musical event of importance. He left three 
daughters, all happily married, and his business 



104 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



i- being continued by his son-in-law, Mr. James 
Rascovar. It U not surprising that after his 
sudden death, on August 19. 1901, regrel was 

universal and the family was overwhelmed with 
signs of esteem and affection to such an extent 
that they felt as if the loss had not been their 
own alone but of the whole people. Few nun 
who never held official position have been hon- 
ored by their contemporaries as Allien Frank 
was. 

LEONARD A. GIEGERICH, jurist, was born 
in Bavaria on March 20, 1855. He came to New 
York City with his parents when he was one year 
,.ld and received his education in the village 
school of Woodstock, Conn., and in the public 
and parochial schools of New York City. He 

studied law and engaged in the practise of his 
profession, after being admitted to the Bar in 
1S77. From his early youth he had taken a lively 
interest in public affairs and politics, making 
many friend- who admired his straightforward 
way, his unimpeachable honesty and his genial 
disposition. He was elected member of assembly 
in 1886 and made such a splendid record that it 
was warmly approved by the Reform Club. He 
tc.k a leading part in the struggle for personal 
liberty, which won for him the good will of all 
German-Americans. He refused all free railroad 
3 and insisted Upon paying his fare to and 
from the capitol at Albany. President Cleveland 
appointed him as collector of internal revenues in 
July, 1887, in which capacity he served until 
March, 1890, when he was appointed by Gover- 
nor Hill a- a justice of the City Court for the 
term expiring December 31. 1890. Before retiring 
from the Bench, he had bi ted County 

- up that position after less than 
one year's service in consequence of hi- appoint 
ment a- judge of the Court of Common Plea 
by Governor Hill. I te was ele< ted to a full term 
in iS«j_> on the nomination of all parties. This 
court was merged in the Supreme Court in Jan 
nary, 1896 Ever since which time he has served 
as a justice of the latter court, he having been 
reelected in too6 on the nomination of all parties 
including the lawyers' nomination. II.- was a 
to the constitutional convention of New 
Vork State of 1894. Justice Giegerich has 
the confidence ami respeel of the Bar, His 
high character led to his appointmenl by the 
Appellate Division, at the requesl of counsel 
for both sid< - upon a large num 

ber of contested ballots in the memorable election 
of 1905, when William R Hearst was a candidate 
for mayor against Colonel Georg< B McClellan, 
Although the title of th.- office of mayor and 



eighl thousand ballots cast for William Travers 
Jerome for district attorney hinged upon his 
decision, his rulings were regarded as eminently 
fair by all concerned and were therefore never 
appealed from. Judge Giegerich enjoys a large 
and well deserved popularity among the German- 
Americans of Xew York, who look upon him as 
one of the best representatives of their race, in 
character, achievements and ability. He is a 
member of the Arion, German Press Club, Fi- 
delia Gesang Verein, Catholic Club, Catholic 
Benevolent Legion, Knights of Columbus, St. 
Francis Xavier Sodality, Xew York Historical 
Society, Manhattan College Alumni Society, Tam- 
many Society, honorary member of the New 
York State Bar Association and has received 
the honorary degree of LL.D. from Manhattan 
College. He was married on September 6, 1887, 
to Miss Louise M. I '.oil, and has two sons, Leon- 
ard A., Jr., and Arthur X. 

HUGO REIS1XGER, merchant, was born at 
Wiesbaden in Germany on January 29, 1856, as 
the youngest of six children. His father was a 
man of superior attainments, doctor of philoso- 
phy, and had taken an active part in the Hungarian 
revolution of 1848, acting for some time as sec- 
retary to Ludwig Kossuth. He bad settled at 
Wiesbaden and become proprietor and editor of 
the Mittel-Rheinische Zeitung, the oldest daily pa- 
per of that city. Young Reisinger received his 
education at the gymnasium of his birthplace and 
engaged in mercantile business after leaving 
school at the age of sixteen. Ten years later, 
having received a thorough business education 

and being established in business for some time, 
he went to America as representative <>\ the fa- 
mous Siemens Glass Works at Dresden. Arriving 
here in January, 1884, he traveled all over the Uni- 
ted States and Canada several times in order to 
introduce the goods, and met with such signal suc- 
cess that iii [886 he established his present general 
importing and exporting business, which devel- 
oped into one of the largest in the United States 
Since (886 Mr. Reisinger has lived in Xew York 
City, spending four months of every year in 
Europe in the interest of his business and for 
recreation He is a man of many accomplish- 
ments and widely known as an art connoisseur 
and collector. While fully appreciating the beauty 

and worth of the old masters and recognizing the 
fact that true art cannot be bounded by geo- 
graphical or national lines, Mr. Reisinger has de- 
voted himself to introduce German art into this 
country and to secure for it the position it de- 
With this purpose in view, he has writ- 
ten a number of newspaper and magazine articles 




HENRY SIEGEL. 



105 




MARC KIM. I IX. 



106 




HERMANN JOHANNES BOLDT. 



107 




HENRY A. C. ANDERSON'. 



K)8 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 109 



and carried on an agitation that promises to bear 
fruit in the near future. He owns the largest and 
most complete collection of modern German 
paintings in the United States, as well as the best 
and most valuable in an artistic sense, and he is 
arranging for an exhibition of German art in 
America which is intended to arouse an interest 
in the work of German artists heretofore sadly 
lacking. Mr. Reisinger has founded a yearly prize 
in Berlin for German art, known as the Hugo 
Reisinger prize, and is acknowledged to be an 
expert judge of paintings. He is very fond of 
outdoor sports, a golf player of no mean ability, 
a noted whip, frequently tooling his splendidly 
appointed four-in-hand through the park, and a 
fine rider. Mounted on his favorite horse and 
accompanied by his two sons, who are as accom- 
plished horsemen as the father, the little caval- 
cade attracts much attention by its dashing ap- 
pearance and soldierly bearing. Mr. Reisinger is 
a member of St. James Lutheran Church, the 
Deutsche Verein, Garden City Golf Club, Subur- 
ban Riding and Driving Club, National Arts Club, 
Metropolitan Museum and an officer in various 
corporations. He was appointed honorary com- 
missioner to Europe by President Francis of the 
World's Fair at St. Louis in 1904, and was dec- 
orated by the German Emperor in recognition of 
his services with the Royal Order of the Prus- 
sian Crown. On February 10, 1890, Mr. Reisin- 
ger was married to Miss Edmee Busch of St. 
Louis and has two sons, the oldest one, a lad of 
sixteen, being of a serious and studious bend of 
mind, is now preparing to enter Harvard Univer- 
sity for the study of law. 

WILLIAM DEMUTH, merchant, was born at 
Rimbach, Odenwald, Germany, November 1, 1835. 
He received his early education in Darmstadt and 
as a poor boy of sixteen years came to America 
and settled in New York City, where he has re- 
sided ever since. His extraordinary ambition and 
his intelligence showed itself in his youth, and 
he soon established what is now and has been for 
years past, the largest manufactory of pipes and 
smokers' articles. His progressive and inventive 
talent remodeled the entire industry, and his in- 
ventions are to-day universally adopted by all the 
manufacturers of pipes. Aside from his devotion 
to his business, he also found time to cultivate 
his artistic taste which he happily applied in a 
commercial sense. This he showed repeatedly in 
his highly rewarded effort in exhibiting the finest 
specimen of the art of pipe manufacturing at all 
important exhibitions, such as Philadelphia, Paris 
and Chicago, showing in each one something new 
and individual. Everv one will remember the 



unique display in the Paris Exposition, amongst 
which was a highly artistic group of meerschaum 
pipes, successfully portraying all the presidents 
from Washington down. Mr. Demuth received 
for his exhibit the well-deserved gold medal, a 
triumph of the ambition and energy of the New 
World against the accumulated knowledge and 
experience of the Old. Politically, Mr. Demuth 
has always affiliated with the Republican party. 
He has never desired nor held any public office. 
He is a member of the most important benevolent 
and educational societies, as well as hospitals too 
numerous to summarize. He is also a member of 
the Chamber of Commerce, the Civil Service Re- 
form Association and life member of the Amer- 
ican Museum of Natural History, which, through 
his liberal contribution, is enabled to exhibit to 
the public a most unique collection of antiquities 
of pipes found in the Old Country. Mr. Demuth, 
in October, 1861, married Harriet Laurent, the 
living children being Louis, Edgar and Aimee. 
Mr. Demuth is a man of unusual intelligence, is 
full of public spirit, charitable, genial and as pop- 
ular amongst his friends as he is strong, practical 
and true in his commercial relations. 

HERMAN A. METZ, merchant and manufac- 
turer, was born in New York City on October 
19, 1867. His career is one of the most remark- 
able among German-Americans and their de- 
scendants. Compelled to go to work while still 
attending school, at the age of thirty-two he was 
the head and sole proprietor of a large business 
concern which he had entered as office boy when 
fourteen years old. Mr. Metz received his edu- 
cation in the public and in private schools in 
New York, and in 1881 entered the employ of 
Schulze, Berg & Koechl, manufacturers of drugs 
and chemicals, as office boy. Full of ambition, 
the boy perceived immediately that his education 
was not sufficient to allow him to rise as quickly 
as he desired, and he devoted his evenings to 
the study of chemistry at Cooper Union. Having 
finished his course, he entered the laboratory of 
the firm, was traveling salesman and Boston 
agent for two years, and became vice-president 
and treasurer of Victor Koechl & Co., incorpo- 
rated, in 1894. Five years later he purchased the 
interest of Victor Koechl and became the presi- 
dent of the concern. Since then the business has 
not only continually increased, but Mr. Metz has 
become interested in many other enterprises of 
importance. His vitality and ability to dispose 
of work is truly stupendous, and in spite of the 
large extent and great variety of his business 
interests he has found time to devote himself to 
public affairs to a degree in itself remarkable. 



110 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND TIIKIk 1 >l .m 1 A I ).\.\TS 



Mr. Metz has been a delegate to a number of 
Democratic state conventions, and to the na- 
tional convention at Indianapolis in 1896, mem- 
;' the Brooklyn Hoard of Education for sev- 
eral years, and of the county, general, executive 
and state committees of the Democratic party. 
In November, 1005, he was elected controller of 
the city of New York and has as such redoubled 
his activity in every direction. He i- a member 
of the Reform, Chemists', Crescenl Athletic, Ger- 
mania, Riding ami Driving, National Civic and 
Brooklyn Democratic clubs, of the German Lied- 
erkranz, Arion, German Hospital societies of 
New York and Brooklyn, Brooklyn Institute of 
Art- and Science-. American Museum of Nat- 
ural History, Metropolitan Museum of Art. 
Chamher of Commerce. Board of Trade and 
Transportation, Manufacturer-' Association and 
the Society of Chemical Industry of London. Mr. 
Metz -erved on the committees on import and 
appraisement ami for the revision of the customs 
administration of the Merchant-" Association, i- 
captain in the Thirteenth Regiment, N.Y.S.N.G., 
and a Mason of Commonwealth Lodge 400, Jeru- 
salem Chapter No. 8, Adelphic Council No 7. 
Palestine Commandcry Xo. 18. Mecca Temple of 
the Mystic Shrine, and Thirty-second Degree 
Ma -on New York Consistory. 

JOHN' EICHLER, brewer, was born at Roth- 
enburg in Bavaria on October 20, [829, and edu 

in the schools of his native city. After 
leaving school, he entered the brewery of Wolff 

• at Rothenburg, where he served hi- ap 
prenticeship. He then found employment in the 
Wertheim Brewery at Baden and later in the 
Hasenhaide Brewery at Berlin. Having studied 
the business thoroughly ami mastered ever} de 
tail of hi- profession, Mr. Eichler, who at that 
time already wa- considered an expert in his 
held, decided to look for wider opportunities 
than the fatherland, with it- many barriers for 
men who desired to rise by their own effort-, af 
forded. He sailed for America anil arrived at 
Xew York- in [853, at th.- age of twenty four, 
rinding employment almost immediately a- brew 
master in the Franz Ruppert, or Turtle Bay 
Brewery. Tor an enterprising spirit like Mr. 
Eichler this wa-. of course, but a period of tr.-m- 
he saved hi- money, studied the new con 
ditions surrounding him and worked industriously 
until the opportunity he had Teen waiting for 

! itself In [86i hi- ambition wa- realized 

and he went into business on hi- own account 

with Mr. Solman a- partner. Within a few 
h'- bought out hi- partner and purchased 
the Kolb Brewery which wa- located on the pres 



ent site of the -plant of the John Eichler Brew- 
ing Co., at Third Avenue and One Hundred and 
Sixty-ninth Street. The brewery Mr. Eichler 
acquired wa- -mall and lacked all improvement-, 
the business hem- carried on in a desultory way, 
and it required all the indomitable energy of the 
new proprietor to develop it. Hi- financial re- 
source- were limited, hut with restless energy 
he went to work and turned hi- splendid facul- 
ties to account. From the start he had resolved 
to use hi- full strength and not to rest until he- 
had succeeded This he accomplished. His ster- 
ling integrity, his thorough knowledge of his 
profession and his ability were speedily recog- 
nized, and willing hands came forward to furnish 
the mean- that were necessary. It wa- a long 
and uphill tight, for Mr. Eichler was never sat- 
I with what he accomplished until his ideal 
was reached. He kept on improving and enlar- 
ging the plant, and every new invention was sure 
to be tried and if it stood the test to he adopted 
in hi- brewery. But the deserved reward finally 
came and the day arrived when the John Eichler 
Brewing Company's plant was conceded to be 
one of the best equipped in the United State-, and 
it- owner could proudly look upon his achieve- 
ment- with the satisfying knowledge that he had 
done what he set out to do. When Mr. Eichler's 
health began to fail in 1888, he consented to the 
organization of a stock company with himself as 
president, Jacob Siegel, a- vice-president and 
treasurer, Louis J. Heintz as secretary and John 
C. Heintz as trustee for the stockholders. When. 
in [890, the grippe made it- tir-t appearance in 

Xew York, Mr. Eichler was one of it- first vic- 
tims, and while he recovered from the attack, 
he never regained hi- health completely. His 
originally robust constitution, which had with- 
stood the tremendous activity during many years 
of ince -ant labor, was severely shaken, and death 
claimed him on August 4, 1802, while he was on a 
\i-it at Gollheim, in the Rhenish Palatinate. His 
brother in law, Mr Jacob Siegel, went to Ger- 
many and brought back the remain-, which were 
interred in the family burial plot in Woodlawn 
tery. Mr. Eichler was married in 1857 to 
Mi-- Mar> Siege] of Gollheim, who proved a 
valuable helpmate and adviser in building up one 
of the lari^e-t business enterprises in Xew York 
City, and remained constantly at hi- bedside dur- 
ing his illness. He wa- a member of a large 

number of social and benevolent organizations, 
among them the United State- Brewers' Vssocia 
lion, Brewers' Board of Trade of New York and 
ity, Brewers' Exchange, New York Produce 
Exchange, German Society, German Liederkranz, 
\rion, Beethoven Mannerchor, Eichenkranz, 




MAX AMS. 



Ill 




JOHN MARTIN OTTO, 



112 




MATTHTAS HOHNER. 



113 




HANS HOHNER. 



114 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 115 



Freimaurer Sangerbund, Schnorer Club, Morris- 
ania Sangerbund, Harmonic Singing Society, New 
York Independent Schuetzen Corps, Morrisania 
Schuetzen Corps, Rheinpfiilzer Mannerchor, Five 
O'Clock Club of Morrisania, and a Mason of 
Wieland Lodge and Ivy Chapter. John Eichler's 
life and achievements form a lasting monument 
to the qualities of the man, and an illustration of 
what unfailing industry, sterling integrity and 
firmness of purpose may accomplish. 

LOUIS J. HEINTZ (deceased), whose name, 
character and services are still frequently recalled 
throughout the Bronx (New York City), which 
he championed and whose favorite son he was, 
shows plainly how deep and lasting the impress 
was he made. He was only thirty when he died ; 
he was rich and might have taken life at ease; but 
he was enterprising, aggressive and public-spirited 
and threw himself, instead, into the work of up- 
building and developing the community in Which 
his lot was cast. From one of the numerous 
obituaries published at the time of his death, 
March 12, 1893, we take the following account 
of his life : He was born in Manhattan, at Fifty- 
fourth Street, near Tenth Avenue. His father 
died when he was a boy and after his school 
days were over he entered the brewery of his 
uncle and thoroughly mastered the business. He 
was secretary and treasurer of the John Eichler 
Brewing Company and married the daughter of 
the brewer, Ebling. He was president of the 
Brewers' Board of Trade of New York and 
vicinity and was identified with other important 
interests. It was, however, in his public career 
that he cut the most distinguished figure. His 
admirers still hold that, as a man of the people, 
he would have risen, had he lived, to high po- 
litical station. Until he came to the front mis- 
government had been very much the lot of the 
"Annexed District." He it was who succeeded, 
after much opposition at Albany, in getting 
through an act providing a separate board of im- 
provements for the district. Under this statute 
the district obtained the power to have its own 
department of street improvement. Toward the 
expense incidental to the passage of this bill he 
contributed out of his own pocket liberally. This 
action in behalf of the taxpayers of the Twen- 
ty-third and Twenty-fourth Wards was appre- 
ciated. He was selected as the proper man him- 
self to put the law in motion and was nominated, 
accordingly, as the first street commissioner, was 
endorsed by the Taxpayers' Association, the coun- 
ty Democracy and the Republicans, and trium- 
phantly elected. His administration — of which it 
was said that, in the discharge of his duty, he did 
more even than the public could reasonably ex- 
pect — was interrupted by his sudden taking off. 



His death was due primarily to a cold contracted 
during a trip to Washington for the Cleveland 
inaugural ceremonies. He was taken down while 
in the capital, and was brought home for treat- 
ment. An operation for appendicitis performed 
upon him was unsuccessful and he failed to re- 
cover from the effects of it. He was a member 
of many organizations. He founded the famous 
Schnorer Club and was its president five terms. 
He belonged to the Produce Exchange, the Cen- 
tral Turn Verein, the Lexington Democratic Club, 
the Harmonic Singing Society, the Morrisania 
Liedertafel, the Arion, the German Press Club 
and many more. He is buried in Woodlawn. Re- 
membering his devotion to their interests, the 
people of the Bronx still mourn his loss. Some 
day, perhaps, they will give him a public memo- 
rial — for certainly he well deserves it. 

ADOLPH G. HUPFEL, brewer, was born in 
Orange County, N.Y., receiving his educa- 
tion in the public and private schools, coming to 
New York City in 1854. By political affiliation 
he is a Democrat, but has never held or sought a 
political office. The Hupfel Brewery, of which 
he is the head, is numbered among the pioneer 
brewing industries which have made Bronx 
Borough noted. The buildings occupied by this 
establishment have stood so long on St. Ann's 
Avenue and One Hundred and Sixty-first Street, 
that they have become known as landmarks in the 
Bronx. Among the organizations of which Mr. 
Hupfel is an active member, may be mentioned 
the New York Produce Exchange, Brewers' 
Board of Trade, of which he is the ex-presi- 
dent ; Associated Brewers ; ex-trustee and ex-treas- 
urer State Brewers and Maltsters ; ex-director of 
the Union Railway, North Side Board of Trade, 
New York Botanical Society, Wieland Lodge 
No. 714, F. & A.M., Freundschaft Lodge No. 4, 
Improved Order of the Knights of Pythias, Mel- 
rose Turn Verein, Arion Liedertafel, Central 
Turn Verein, German Hospital, Deutsche Gesell- 
schaft, Terrace Bowling Club, Manhattan Club, 
Democratic and Schnorer clubs. On May 13, 
1873, he married Miss Magdalen Kuntz, to whom 
four children have been born, viz. : Catherine G., 
Adolph G., Jr., Antoinette G. and Otto G, all of 
whom are living. 

JOHN CHRISTIAN GLASER HUPFEL, 
brewer, was born in New York City on December 
12, 1842, as the son of German parents. Educa- 
ted in Public School No. 49 in East Thirty-sev- 
enth Street, he engaged in the brewing business, 
which he has carried on with success. Having 
studied his trade both here and in Germany, Mr. 
Hupfel was able to introduce new methods when- 
ever they stood the test he knew how to apply and 



L 16 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



id bring his plant up to the highest grade of effi- 
ciency. He has been closely identified with every 
movement designed to improve the conditions 
under which the brewing business is carried on, 
and with every effort to lift it upon a higher level. 
Public-spirited and charitable, he is a regular 
contributor to a large number of associations de- 
voted to the public welfare. Fond of healthy 
sports and social diversions, Mr. rlupfel is de- 
servedly popular and has a large circle of friend-. 
He is a member of the Arion and Jung-Arion 
Societies, the German Liederkranz and its Bach- 
elor Circle, Fessler Lodge No. 576 F. & A.M., 
Beethoven Maennerchor, Tammany Hall, Ter- 
race Bowling Club, New York Athletic Club, Red 
Bank Yacht Club. Rumson Polo Club, Automobile 
Club of America, founder of the Original Brew- 
ers' and Coopers' K.U.V., Metropolitan Museum 
of Art. Isabella Heimath, Wartburg Orphan-' 
Farm School, German Society, German Hospital, 
Charity Organization, New York Zoological So- 
ciety, American Forestry Association, Presbyte- 
rian Hospital. St. Mark's Hospital. New York 
Skin and Cancer Hospital, St. John's Guild, New 
York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to 
Children, New York Society for the Prevention 
of Cruelty to Animals and the Society for Im- 
proving the Condition of the Poor. On May 10, 
1868, he married Miss Anna Lebkuchner and 
had five children: Anna G., Anton C. G., prac- 
tical brewer; Adolph G. mechanical engineer, and 
Christian G.. lawyer, who are associated in busi- 
ness with their father: and Frederick G., who 
died in infancy. 

DAVID MAYER, presidenl of the David May- 
er Brewing Co., was born at Bodenheim on the 
Rhein on January 8, 1827. He received his edu- 
cation at the gymnasium of Main/, where he grad 
uated and upon the study of medicine 

at the University of Giesen. At the outbreak of 
the revolution of 1848 1849 in the Palatinate and 
Grand Duchy of Baden, Mr. Mayer, who was 
imbued with the love for freedom, joined the 

Student-' and Turner-' Legion and fought under 

ral Mieroslawski. The revolutionists were 
routed at Kirchheimbolanden, where they met a 
superior f< regulars of the Prussian army, 

while they were insufficiently organized and 
armed After the battle Mr. Mayer went to Ba 
den and foughl under General Franz Sigle in sev- 
eral engagements, retreating with the revolution- 
ary army to Switzerland, where his regiment was 
disbanded. He then, like so many of his com 
patriots, fled to America, the land of liberty and 

lom, and worked for a time a- laborer on 

the Erie Railroad, then being constructed. ' n 



accustomed to manual labor, he was forced to 
seek other ways of supporting himself and bought 
a -mall stock of merchandise, traveling through 
the country as a peddler. This venture did not 
appeal to him and after a few weeks he returned 
to New York, where he found employment in a 
high school as teacher of languages, which posi- 
tion he filled with success and distinction until 
the Hungarian patriot, Louis Kossuth, arrived in 
America. Mr. Mayer joined the agitation started 
to secure recognition of the independence of 
Hungary, which, however, proved a failure. He 
thereupon decided to secure a thorough knowl- 
edge of the country where he had decided to re- 
main and went South. Here he established him- 
self in commercial business and met with decided 
success. In i860 he married Miss Bernhardt of 
Xew York, who has been his faithful companion 
and loving helpmate in adversity as well as in 
happiness. Seven children, four sons, one of 
whom died while on duty on the Peninsula and 
three daughters, were born of the union. When 
the Civil War broke out, Mr. Mayer threw in his 
lot with "the Confederacy, and served as com- 
missioned officer of the Albany Guard-. Fourth 
Regiment of Georgia. A severe illness com- 
pelled him to resign his commission and he took 
his family to Xew York, leaving behind him all 
he had amassed in many years of hard work and 
devotion to his business. At his arrival in Yew 
York he wa- practically without mean-, but his 
spirit was not broken, his ability unimpaired and 
his sterling integrity known to a large circle of 
friends. He started again in business on his own 
account but later on became a partner in the Clif- 
ton Brewery on Staten Island which his brother 
had established. When this establishment was 
destroyed by tire in [879, Mr. Mayer reestablished 
the business in the upper part of the city and 
since that time has been at the head of the David 
Mayer Brewing Co. in the borough of the Bronx. 
Mr. Mayer is in the fullest and best -ense of the 
word a s,lf made man, having achieved success 
by hard work, indomitable energy and upright, 
correct business method-. Of dignified bearing, 
lie i- a German of the old school which is rapidly 
disappearing, but ha- done so much for this 
country by faithful devotion to ideals and un- 
swerving honesty. He i- of benevolenl disposi- 
tion, ready to assist those who are in need of 
and deserve help, and very charitable in an unos- 
tentatious way, preferring to give quietly instead 
of proclaiming to the world the good he does. Mr. 
Mayer i- a member of many educational, philan- 
thropic, literary and charitable societies and one 
of the few surviving members of the Association 
1 if ( ierman Patrii >t- of [848 49. 




ADAM WEBER. 



117 




1.1'IAVIi, NISSEN. 



US 




Fl.ORIAN KRUG. 



119 




EMANUEL BARUCH. 



120 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 121 



WILLIAM PETER, the founder and presi- 
dent of the William Peter Brewing Company, 
was born at Achern, Baden, Germany, March 16, 
1832. The schools of his native town furnished 
his early education and he graduated from same 
at an early age. His studies were concluded at 
the Moravian Brother's Institute of Koenigsfeld, 
Baden, after having taken a two years' course. At 
the age of sixteen young Peter entered upon the 
field of brewing, which, at that time was in its 
infancy compared to the great industry of to-day. 
Apprenticing himself under a brother-in-law, he 
learned the trade thoroughly and continued in this 
capacity for two and one-half years. So indus- 
triously had he applied himself during his ap- 
prenticeship, his qualifications were such that as- 
sured him the foundation he had endeavored to 
attain. He came to this country in 1850 with 
his parents and settled in New York City. The 
trade he had chosen offered better opportunities 
here and he found little difficulty in procuring 
employment. For four years' he worked in vari- 
ous breweries. In 1854 he made his first trip 
to Cincinnati, Ohio, and was employed there in 
the same capacity until 1857, when he returned to 
the East. At the age of twenty-eight he estab- 
lished a business of his own in the western sec- 
tion of the city and conducted it in a small way 
with an output of but two and three-quarter bar- 
rels per day. In 1862 he purchased property at 
Union Hill, N.J., and during the same year he 
erected a small plant that had a daily capacity of 
twelve barrels. After a copartnership of one 
year, he sold his entire interest to his partner 
and during the year of 1864 he accepted a posi- 
tion as foreman of the Fausel Brewing Com- 
pany of Union Hill, where he remained until 
the spring of 1865. He again engaged in busi- 
ness for himself during that year, erecting a 
brewery having a daily capacity of seventy bar- 
rels. From 1866 to 1868 the firm was known as 
Peter and Brock and later as Peter and Hexamer, 
but it was not until 1870 that Mr. Peter became 
sole proprietor, and the first real progress that 
was made, and which has terminated so success- 
fully, commenced that year. The facilities and 
capacity of the plant were greatly enlarged and 
whenever anything new appeared in the line of 
brewing that meant advancement, Mr. Peter imme- 
diately installed same. Like all large enterprises, its 
growth was gradual and each year marked a step 
forward. To-day this imposing plant, with its 
modern fire-proof buildings, machinery and meth- 
ods, stands as a monument to the memory of its 
founder. The annual output is over one hundred 
and twenty-five thousand barrels and a yearly ca- 
pacity of five hundred thousand. Eia^htv hands are 



employed throughout the various departments. The 
firm's main office, which is located on Hudson 
Avenue, was erected in 1900 and is a credit to 
Union Hill. Classical in architecture, built of 
marble and brick and containing appointments of 
richness and convenience. Directly opposite is the 
residence of Mr. Peter, one of the handsomest in 
Union Hill, and where he has resided for twenty- 
two years. Mr. Peter incorporated his brewing 
interests on May 1, 1890, and the concern became 
known as The William Peter Brewing Company ; 
the stock is held by Mr. Peter's own immediate 
family. The officers of the company are : Will- 
iam Peter, president ; William Peter, Jr., vice- 
president ; Emil Peter, secretary ; William Braun- 
stein, treasurer ; August Peter, assistant secretary 
and treasurer, and Charles Peter, manager. All of 
Mr. Peter's sons have received a careful commercial 
training and the efficient way in which they trans- 
act their official and other duties is characteristic 
of the father. In 1859 Mr. Peter was united in 
marriage to Miss Magdaline Jaeger of Bavaria, 
Germany ; six children were born to this union. 
Mrs. Peter died in 1868. Later Mr. Peter again 
married, this time a Mrs. Caroline Ohlenschlager 
(nee Apply) of Zurich, Switzerland, who died 
in 1900. Two children were born to this mar- 
riage. In 1902 Mr. Peter married Miss Sophia 
Vogel of Carlsruhe, Baden. Mr. Peter is a great 
lover of art and music. He goes abroad once a 
year and always finds the time to portray the 
beautiful scenery in Switzerland and Germany in 
oil. His home contains many creditable works of 
his own. 

JACOB RUPPERT, brewer, was born in New 
York City on March 4, 1842, as the son of Ger- 
man parents, and received his education in the 
public and private schools of his birthplace. At 
an early age he engaged in the restaurant busi- 
ness and later on started a brewery, being one of 
the pioneers of this industry in the United States. 
While the conditions favored the growth of his 
enterprise, it was his business ability, his fore- 
sight and thorough knowledge which made his 
brewery one of the largest in this section of the 
country. It has been enlarged from time to 
time and equipped with the most modern appli- 
ances, for Mr. Ruppert was always ready to in- 
troduce new methods as soon as their value had 
been proven. From small beginnings his inter- 
ests have grown to very large proportions, and 
he is now interested in a number of other enter- 
prises. A Democrat in politics, Mr. Ruppert has 
served as presidential elector for the state of 
New York on the Democratic ticket, but has re- 
fused all other offers of public office. He is a 



122 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



member of the Arion and the German Lieder- 
kranz and of a large number of hospital and 
other benevolent societies. In 1864 Mr. Ruppert 
married Miss Anna Gillig. Six children were 
born to him, of whom four, Jacob, Jr., Anna 
Schalk, George and Amanda Scllick, are living. 

HEIXRICH COXRIED, impresario, was born 
al Bielitz, Austria, on September 13, 1855. He 
was educated by private tutors and graduated 
from Schottenfeld College in 1869. Following 
the wish of bis father, he learned the trade of a 
weaver, but having a natural and profound fond- 
ness for the stage, he decided to follow that pro- 
fession and made his debut at the Imperial Court 
Theatre at Vienna on February 23, 1873. His 
advancement was rapid and he bad already at- 
tained high rank in his new calling when he ac- 
cepted in 1878 a call from the United States and 
became stage manager at the Germania Theater 
in New V<>rk City. As stage manager and as 
actor his success was pronounced, and in the 
following year he made a triumphant tour of the 
German theaters in the United States as a star. 
!■'< t some time he was connected with the Thalia 
Theater in New York, where he acquired well 
rved fame by magnificent productions of 
modern plays and comic operas. He then formed 
a connection with the New York Casino and 
later organized the Conried Opera Company 
which gave performances all over the United 
- with great artistic and financial success. 
In iSg_> Mr. Conried became proprietor and 
manager of the Irving Place Theater in New- 
York which be devoted exclusively to German 
drama. This institution be raised to greal dis- 
tinction nol only through the engagement of 
some of the foremost German actors, but also 

through tli!- greal care which he bestowed Upon 

tin- production of modern and classical plays. The 
Irving Place was soon known as a model theater 
and its fame spread tar beyond the German- 
speaking population. There Mr. Conried intro 
duced to the American public such am I 
Sonnenthal, Mitterwurzer, Barnaj Schratt, 
Gallmeyer, Knoack, Agnes Sorma and many oth- 
ers and produced the wurks of modern authors 
bk<- Hauptmann, Ibsen, Voss, Sudermann and 

Fulda, together with many classical plays. For 
more than a decade Mr. Conried devoted a lar.uc 
part of hi t" the elevation of the Vmer 

ican sta^e, being firmly convinced that the uni- 
versity, the church and the stage form the three 
great universities and lias given performances 

at Yale, Harvard and other institutions of learn 

ing. bearing all the exp< nses \ memorable event 
was the production of Goethe's "Iphigenie" al 



Harvard University, the entire receipts being de- 
by Mr. Conried to the fund for the es- 
tablishment of the new German Museum at Cam- 
bridge. In 1904 Mr. Conried took charge of the 
Metropolitan Opera House, and the artistic as 
well as the financial success of this institution 
under his leadership is too well known to re- 
quire extended recapitulation. In 1008, at the 
close of an unusually successful season, he de- 
sired to retire from this position because he 
needed rest and desired to devote himself 
entirely to the new National Theater where 
cpects to realize his plans as to what the 
perfect stage should be. He is an indefati- 
gable worker. During his short career he 
has staged over one thousand plays and 
crossed the ocean nearly one hundred times in 
the interests of his enterprises. In spite of his 
arduous labors he has found time to deliver lec- 
tures on the drama at Yale, Harvard and Colum- 
bia universities and the University of Pennsyl- 
vania. He has received the degree of M.A. from 
Pennsylvania, Harvard and Columbia and nu- 
merous decorations from European monarchs, 
and has been made a Knight of the Order of the 
Iron Crown by the Emperor of Austria-Hun- 
gary, Knight of the Order of the Royal Crown 
by the Emperor of Germany. The King of 
Italy conferred upon him the rank of Cavaliere, 
raising him to the nobility. Mr. Conried was 
married in 1884 to Augusta, daughter of F. M. 
Spcrlin, and has one son, Richard Conried. 

C. F. ACKER MAW, retired, and residing at 

No. 86 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn, was born at 

u, Anhalt, Germany, April 5, 1835. He 

attended the Gymnasium school of his native 

city until he reached the age of fifteen years, at 

which time he went to Bremen, where he obtained 
a position with an export and importing house, 
with whom he remained for a period of four 
years. On September [6, [854, when at the age 
of nineteen, he landed in America, locating at 
Brooklyn, N.Y., and after holding various mer- 
cantile positions in New York he, on January 1, 
[859, established the importing and export firm 
of Meissner, Ackermann & Company, which grew 
in time to be the most extensive in the petroleum 

Orl trade in the country. In [86] Mr. Ack- 
ermann soon after the discovery of petroleum 
his firm made their first shipment, which Lirew 

from year to year to very large proportions and 
shipped this commodity to all parts of the world. 
In [890 Mr. Ackermann retired from active busi 
life, having behind him an unblemished 
reputation throughout the commercial world. He 
enjoys an extensive acquaintance both in this 




CAPTAIN J. B. GREEN HUT. 



123 




JAI OB U Kil' MAN \. 



124 




BENEDICT PRIETH. 



125 




JOHN B. OELK1 RS. 



126 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 127 



country and Europe. He is a member of the 
Germania Club of Brooklyn, and was reared in 
the Lutheran Church. Mr. Ackermann was one 
of the founders and is a charter member of the 
German-American Insurance Company of New 
York and has been a director of it ever since 
it was organized. He was joined in wedlock on 
February 7, i860, with Miss Henrietta Marie 
Wilckens, daughter of Dr. J. Frederick Wilckens, 
at one time a prominent physician of Xew York 
City. They have seven living children. 

RUDOLPH J. SCHAEFER, brewer and mer- 
chant, was born in New York City on February 
21, 1863. He received his education in the pub- 
lic and in private schools of his birthplace, and 
passed through a business college. After leaving 
school, he became interested in the F. & M. Schae- 
fer Brewing Company, of which his father had been 
one of the founders, and soon took an active part 
in the management. He is now vice-president of 
this concern and president of the Schaefer (Real- 
ty) Company, and also a director in several other 
industrial corporations. Mr. Schaefer has taken 
a very active part in all movements inaugurated 
for the welfare of the industry in which he is en- 
gaged and is president of the Lager Beer Brew- 
ers' Board of Trade of New York and Vicinity, 
vice-president of the Associated Brewers of New 
York and Vicinity and treasurer of the New 
York State and the United States Brewers' Asso- 
ciations. He is a member of the American Brew- 
ing Institute and has devoted much time and 
study to the modern development of the brewing 
industry, introducing new methods into his es- 
tablishment as soon as they had stood the test of 
careful investigation. Of an active and lively dis- 
position, Mr. Schaefer is fond of all manly sports, 
such as riding, driving, skating, billiards, yacht- 
ing, rowing and swimming, and is a member of 
the New York Athletic Club, the National Asso- 
ciation of Amateur Billiard Players, trustee of 
the Larchmont Yacht Club and member of several 
other yacht clubs. He served as vice-president of 
the German Liederkranz and is a member of the 
Lambs Club. In addition, he is interested in a 
number of charitable organizations and others 
working for the public good ; a trustee of the 
German Hospital and Dispensary, chairman of 
the Brewers' Auxiliary of the Hospital Saturday 
and Sunday Association, life member of the So- 
ciety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 
member of the German Society, the Isabella Hei- 
math, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and many 
other societies. He is a Lutheran and a Demo- 
crat in local, but generally a Republican in na- 
tional affairs. Mr. Schaefer was married on Oc- 



tober 15, 1890, to Miss Frederica V. Beck and 
has three children, F. M. Emile, Edmee Eloise, 
and Rudolph J., Jr. 

HUGO SOHMER, manufacturer, was born at 
Dunningen, near Rottweil, in the Black Forest in 
Wuerttemberg, in 1846. His father was a physi- 
cian and left nothing undone to give the boy a 
good education. At an early age Mr. Sohmer 
developed an unusual talent and love for music 
and while still a child attended every concert in 
the old city of Rottweil and in Stuttgart, the 
capital of Wuerttemberg, thus preparing himself, 
without knowing it, for the career he was to fol- 
low in later years. When he was sixteen years 
old, the boy decided to emigrate to America. The 
Wanderlust, which drives so many Germans into 
foreign countries, had taken hold of him and he 
heard so many wonderful stories about America 
that he was determined to see the land with whose 
riches his imagination was filled. He arrived in 
1863 and found work in the piano factory of 
Schuetze & Ludolff. The ardent desire for knowl- 
edge which the father had planted in the boy's 
heart, and the ambition to rise gave him the 
strength to overcome all obstacles. He used his 
evenings to increase his knowledge of music 
through private lessons, at times suffering severe 
privations because his earnings were small and 
he was alone in the world, his father having died. 
In 1868 Mr. Sohmer had earned enough money 
to go to Europe, where he visited all the important 
piano factories in order to increase his knowledge 
of the business he had decided to embrace. At 
Vienna he made the acquaintance of Mr. Josef 
Kuder, a practical piano maker, and associated 
himself with him and several other experts in the 
same line under the firm name of Sohmer & Co. 
The new factory was started in 1872 at the cor- 
ner of Third Avenue and Fourteenth Street with 
limited means and could produce but two or three 
pianos a week during the first year. But the fact 
that nothing but the very best material was used, 
and not a single instrument was allowed to leave 
the workshop that was not mechanically and ar- 
tistically perfect quickly established the reputation 
of the new firm. After three years it became nec- 
essary to enlarge the factory considerably, and in 
1886 a new factory was built at Astoria, which is 
equipped with all modern improvements and 
known as a model establishment. The Sohmer 
piano has found its way in many thousands of 
homes, is used by the best and greatest artists, 
and agencies of the firm have been established in 
almost every city in the United States. Mr. Soh- 
mer's success has been pronounced, and is re- 
markable not only because it started from the 



128 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



smallest beginnings imaginable, but also for the 
reason that it has not changed him in the least. 
Widely known, he i> as modest and unassuming 
a> at the beginning areer, full of devo 

tii in to his duty and to his family, a member of 
many social organization?, but fund of home 
life, a large contributor to a multitude of chari- 
ties, and a lover of good music who not only sel 
dom : good concert or opera, but is always 

ready to assist gifted pupils and artists lacking 
the means fur a musical education. 

OTTO WISSNER, manufacturer, was born 
near Giessen in Hessen, Germany, on March 2, 
[853, and received his education in the Real-Gym- 
nasium at Giessen, evincing special interest for 
languages and becoming proficient in Latin, Greek, 
English and French. At the age of sixteen. Mr. 
Wissner came to the United States and found em- 
ployment in various piano factories, learning the 
business thoroughly and from the bottom up. In 
1878 lie started hi- own factory in Brooklyn and 
while he had to begin on a -mall scale, so much 

was taken in the selection of the material 
and the construction of the instruments, that the 
Wissner piano quick'y secured recognition among 

- and the public at lar.Lte. The factory and 
the salesrooms had to lie enlarged and agencies 
were established in all the important cities of the 
United States. Mr. Wissner frequently traveled 
through the country and became widely known as a 
man of sterling integrity and unusual ability and 
as a manufacturer whose knowledge of his busi 

and enterprise had rapidly brought him into 
the front rank of American industrial and artistic 
life. Artists like the late Anton Seidl. Htnil 1'aur, 

Lillian Nordica, Julie Rives King, Jan ECubelik 

and many others used his pianos and became his 

friends. Mr. Wissner took a lively interest in 

musical affairs, and was always ready to assist 

ferman organizations devoted to the mission 

• if awakening and strengthening the love and :tp 
preciation for good music in America. In [900 
he was appointed by the I Inited Singers of Brook 
lyn a member of a committee of three t<> transmit 
German Emperor the thanks of the singers 
fur the silver trophy Emperor William had given 
as a prize f"r the singing festival held at Brook- 
lyn, and tu present copies of the songs which had 
been rendered at the competition fur it. The dele 
gation was graciously received by Emperor Will 
iani and treated with much di tihetion. Mr Wi- 
ner i- an Independent in politics and lives in 
Brooklyn, hut spends much of his time at his 
ful summer home, The Westerly, in Nas- 
sau County. He is a member of 'In- German 
Lutheran Church, tin- German Liederkranz, 



Brooklyn Arion, Saengerbund, Royal Arcanum, 
and a Mason, also a director of the Mechanics 
I'.ank and trustee <>f the Cermania Savings Bank. 
In [88] Mr. Wissner was married to Miss Katie 
Leckerling and has six children, four daughters 
and two -I, us, who now manage his factory. 

EDWARD LAUTERBACH, whose brilliant 
career as a lawyer and politician has made his 
one of the most familiar names in New York, 
was horn in New York City on August 12, 1844. 
His education was begun in the public schools 
and continued in the College of the City of New 
York, from which institution he was graduated 
with honors in 1864. lie worked hard in school 
and college, as one to whom study was a privi- 
lege rather than a drudgery, and as soon as he 
received hi- degree entered upon a course of 
law in the offices of Townsend, Dyett & Morri- 
son. After his admission to the Bar he became 
a member of this firm, which was then reor- 
ganized under the name of Morrison, Lauter- 
bach & Spingarn. The death of Mr. Spingarn 
terminated the partnership and Mr. Lauterbach 
formed his present connection with the firm of 
Hoadly, Lauterbach & Johnson. Individually, 
the linn is an mm ually strong one, and is well 
known throughout the country. Mr. Lauterbach 
has made an exhaustive study of the statutes 
relating to corporate bodies, and has a high 
Standing at the Bar as a specialist in this depart- 
ment of practise-. He has successfully conducted 
a large number of important litigations involv- 
ing intricate points of law, and has a wide repu- 
taiion for being able to settle large cases outside 
the courts In addition to bis other practise, Mr. 
Lauterbach is a prominent figure in railroad cir- 
cles as an organizer. He was instrumental in 
bringing about the consolidation of the Union 
and Brooklyn elevated mads, and the creation 
of the Consolidated Telegraph and Electrical 
subway, ami was concerned in the reorganiza- 
tion of many railroads. He was counsel for and 
a director of a number of street surface rail- 
roads, among others the Third Avenue system. 
Mr. Lauterbach has always been a Republican 
and has taken as active a part in state and local 
polities ,,s the absorbing nature of his profession 
would permit. For some years lie was chairman 
of the Republican County Committee of N'ew 
York and was associated with Chauncey M. He 
pew, Thomas C. Piatt, Frank S. Witherbee and 
Frank Hiscock in the advisory committee of the 
Republican State Committee. In the Republican 
National Convention, held at St. Louis in 1S06, 
he was a delegate at large from New York, 
was the member from N'ew York of the com- 




LOUIS WIXDMULLER. 



129 




ROHKKT VOM CLEFF. 



130 




HERMANN HEINRICH HORNFECK. 



131 




SAMUEL WEIL, 



132 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 133 



mittee on resolutions, and was one of the sub- 
committee of nine appointed to draft the plat- 
form, the financial plank of which presented the 
greatest issue that had been before the Amer- 
ican people for many years. Mr. Lauterbach 
was one of the three delegates at large from 
the city of New York to the Constitutional Con- 
vention, which met in June, 1894. He was made 
chairman of the committee on public charities, 
an appointment which was considered highly ap- 
propriate, as he has been very prominent in all 
philanthropic and benevolent work, and is con- 
nected officially with many charitable organiza- 
tions. The cause of education has a sympathetic 
and practical friend in Mr. Lauterbach, who has 
done much in various ways for its advancement. 
Mr. Lauterbach is married and has four children. 
The oldest, a son, was educated for his father's 
profession and was admitted to the Bar at the 
age of twenty-one. The other three are daugh- 
ters. Mrs. Lauterbach has for years been a 
conspicuous figure in New York society, not only 
in its brilliancy and pleasure-seeking, but also in 
its beneficent activities. She became interested 
in the Consumers' League, and did much to se- 
cure legislation for the benefit of women em- 
ployed in factories. She has been interested in 
the movement for woman suffrage, the Prizon 
Guild and many other enterprises for the im- 
provement of social, industrial and educational 
conditions. 

ABRAM JESSE DITTENHOEFER, jurist, 
was born at Charleston, S.C., on the seventeenth 
day of March, 1836. He is the son of Isaac and 
Babetta Dittenhoefer. His father, a native of 
Germany, emigrated to the United States in 1836, 
arriving in the city of Baltimore. He then moved 
to Charleston, S.C., and subsequently to the city 
of New York, where he became a successful 
merchant and a man of great local influence ; his 
mother was also a native of Germany. His par- 
ents were married in Baltimore. He acquired 
his early education in the public schools of the 
city of New York and later attended Columbia 
College Grammar School, then situated in Mur- 
ray Street, and in 1852 he entered Columbia Col- 
lege, which was then situated in College Place; 
and Charles King was its president. During his 
college course he was especially distinguished 
for his proficiency in Latin and Greek ; the fa- 
mous Dr. Charles Anthon, the professor of 
Latin, called him "Ultima Thule." After grad- 
uation and in 1857 he entered the law office of 
Benedict & Boardman. At that time John E. 
Parsons, the celebrated lawyer, was managing- 
clerk in the same office. At the age of twenty- 



one he was admitted to the Bar. His active 
connection with the Republican party, then form- 
ing, began about the same time. Though his 
friends and relatives urged him to join the Dem- 
ocratic party, which was then in supreme control 
in the city of New York, his strong convictions 
that slavery was a crime and should be rooted 
out influenced him not to follow their advice. At 
that time New York City was virtually a pro- 
slavery city, and during the draft riots at the 
breaking out of the Civil War, he was notified 
by the rioters to leave the city, which he declined 
to do. In 1858 he was nominated by the Repub- 
lican party for justice of the Marine (now City) 
Court, but the party being in a hopeless minor- 
ity, his election was impossible. In 1864 he was 
elected one of the presidential electors for the 
state of New York, and as such he had the great 
honor to cast his vote in the Electoral College 
for Abraham Lincoln, with whom he became in- 
timate and who, during his term, offered Mr. 
Dittenhoefer the appointment of United States 
judge for the district of South Carolina, his 
native state. He declined the appointment as he 
was unwilling to abandon the large practise he 
had secured in the city of New York. In 1862 
Governor Fenton appointed him to fill the va- 
cancy caused by the death of Judge Florence 
McCarthy and he gave his entire salary during 
the whole term to Judge McCarthy's widow, who 
was in want. This act of kindness and gener- 
osity has been characteristic of his life. At the 
expiration of the term he declined a renomina- 
tion, to enable him to devote himself to his large 
and lucrative practise. In 1876 he was a dele- 
gate to the National Republican Convention in 
Cincinnati, which nominated General Hayes for 
president, and for eight weeks stumped without 
compensation in the states of Ohio and Indiana. 
For twelve consecutive years he was chair- 
man of the German Republican Central Commit- 
tee of New York and has always effectively 
served his party as an influential factor in its 
councils and as an effective campaigner. Judge 
Dittenhoefer stands in the front rank of the New 
York Bar and as a lawyer has secured a distin- 
guished reputation. While his services have been 
required in every branch of the legal profession, 
he has been conspicuous in litigations relating to 
the law of the stage, being recognized as an au- 
thority on that branch of the law. He procured 
the incorporation of the Actors Fund of Amer- 
ica, the great theatrical charity, and has served 
as its counsel without compensation. It was 
largely through his efforts that the law giving 
the license fees collected from theaters to the 
Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delin- 



134 SIVCKSSM'L GER MAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



quents was repealed This stamped the theater 
a> the nursery of criminals and its repeal was 

gnized as a great advance. In recognition of 
tlu- e services he was presented with a testimonial 
and, together with ex-President Cleveland, Dr. 
Houghton and other distinguished men, was 
elected an honorary member. He also secured, 
at the instance of the American Dramatists' Club, 
the amendment of the copyright law making it a 
crime to steal the production of one's brain, as 
it always was a crime to steal tangible property, 
lie has al-ci l>een distinguished in many commer- 
cial and corporation cases and lias been frequent- 
ly retained in important criminal cases. Early in 
the seventies he was appointed by the Board of 
Aldermen of the city of New York as one of 

unsel to represent them when they were in- 
dicted for granting permits to encumber the 
streets with newspaper stands in violation of the 
charter and he succeeded in quashing the indict 
ment. He made a telling point when he a-ked 
the court to mark the newsboy, whose stand was 
the subject of controversy, as Exhibil A. lie 
was counsel for the old excise commissioners, 
Dr. Merkle and Richard Morrison, when they 
were indicted for an infraction of the law. and 
succeeded in obtaining their acquittal. When 
their si',-,- — ,, r s. Commissioners Meakin, Fitzpat- 
rick and Koch, were subsequently indicted, he 

was their leading counsel and after three years 
of litigation the indictments were dismissed on 
a motion made by Judge Dittenhoefer. In 1896 
as one of the counsel for Elverton A. Chapman 
of the well known hanking firm of Moore & 
Schley and a number of newspaper correspond 
ents who wire prosecuted in Washington for re- 
fusing to answer questions of tin' United States 
Senate Committee investigating the Mi^ar tariff 
scandal, Judge Dittenhoefer was conspicuous 
and successful, gaining a notable victorj of 

«real value for the liberty of the press. He was 
counsel for the defendants in what are known as 
■ Ik Fraud Cases, instituted by the 
United States. These were vigorously pro 
ted and attracted great attention all over the 
world. Me succeeded in freeing his client. He 
■■unsel for the Metropolitan ( )pcra Com 
pany in the attempt on the part of the willow of 
the famous master, Richard Wagner, to -1 
an injunction 1. 1 restrain tin pei t'l it man< 1 
"Parsifal." One of the arguments made b) Mrs. 
Wagner's counsel was that Richard Wagner 
left the wish on his death-bed that "Parsifal" 
should not he performed anywhere else than at 
Beyreuth, and that said wish In mid he piously 

ted In reply Judge I >i t teiiho, f , r asked: 

"Suppose Shakespeare had left the dying wish 



that 'Hamlet' should not be produced anywhere 
else than at Stratford-on-the-Avon, would it he 
right to deprive the world of the pleasure and in- 
struction tu he derived from listening to that tin- 
equaled work on the stage?" He was counsel for 
the captain and directors who were indicted in 
connection with the burning of the General Slo- 
cunt, on which over nine hundred lives were lost. 
IK is now one of the counsel of the Lincoln 
National Hank, of which General James, a mem 
ber of President Garfield's Cabinet, is president, 
ami of many other corporations. An amusing 
incident in Judge Dittenhoefer's career occurred 
a few years after he was admitted to the bar. A 
German by the name of David retained him to 
defend him. He had been charged with pur- 
chasing a quantity of clothing on false representa- 
tions. When the case came on for trial it was 
the sixteenth on the day calendar. Every case 
ahead of his having answered ready on the first 
call. Judge Dittenhoefer left the court with in- 
structions to be sent for should, by any chance, 
his case he reached. In less than an hour, the 
calendar having broken down, his presence was 
demanded. When he arrived the jury had already 
been empaneled. Being quite near-sighted he 
could imt find his client and requested his young 
man to look for him, who quickly reported that 
he was sitting on his own jury. After much dif- 
ficulty the judge, who felt inclined to punish him 
for contempt of court, allowed him to go. The 
judge then asked him how on earth he got on 
the jury. He answered: "Didn't I have to go? 
The clerk called my name." His name was in 
the wheel with a hundred others ami by a strange 
coincidence when his case was called by the trial 
judge his own name was turned out among the 
twelve to act as juryman. Judge Dittenhoefer 
then asked him how he could have the cheek to 
sit on his own jury. His answer was: "Veil, 
who knows more about dis case den I do?" The 
judge said that he was not a rascal but merely 
a fool who did not know any better. Judge Dit- 
tenhoefer married in the city of New York i» 
1S5N a Miss Rnglehart of Cleveland. Ohio, and 
has five children. One of them, his sun, Irving 
Meade Dittenhoefer, is his partner, and a mem 

her of the firm of Dittenhoefer, Gerber & James. 

cil \kl I S \. ST VDLEB was born at Ger 
mersheim in tin- Bavarian Palatinate on July 15. 

[848 He came to America in 1S51 with his par 

ents and received his education in St. Nicholas's 
Parochial School, the public schools and in He I. a 
Salle Institute Vfter graduating, Mr. Stadler 
engaged in the brewing industry and subsequently 

in the grain trade and eventually established 




GEORGE EHRET. 



135 




AUGUST MIETZ. 



136 




GEORGE C. DRESSEL. 



137 




HERMAN CHRISTIAN HENRY HEROLD. 



138 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 139 



himself as a maltster. The development of the 
brewing industry and the change to modern 
methods which almost revolutionized that trade 
during the latter part of the last century was 
foreseen early by Mr. Stadler and made use of 
in every possible way. He clearly perceived the 
ways and means with the help of which he could 
get to and keep at the front, and was soon recog- 
nized as one of the ablest men in his line. Of a 
genial disposition, warm-hearted and ever ready 
to help those in need, it is but natural that he has 
a host of friends and that his popularity is not 
confined to his business associates. A Democrat, 
and from his early youth interested in public af- 
fairs, political honors were offered to him re- 
peatedly. He served as inspector of schools, as 
state senator from 1888 to 1892, as delegate to 
the Constitutional Convention and as a member 
of the State Democratic Executive Committee, 
and only his determination to devote his time to 
his business affairs prevented his election to 
higher offices. He had by this time interested 
himself in various enterprises and is now presi- 
dent of the American Malting Company and of 
the Sebastian Wagon Company, vice-president 
and treasurer of the Sicilian Asphalt Company, 
vice-president of the Nineteenth Ward Bank and 
a director of the Germania Bank, member of the 
Produce Exchange of New York and of the 
Boards of Trade of Chicago and Buffalo. Fond 
of good and congenial societies, he is a member 
of many clubs, among them the Manhattan, Dem- 
ocratic, Army and Navy and New York Ath- 
letic; the Geographical Society, German Society, 
German Liederkranz, Arion and many other pub- 
lic and charitable organizations. He is major 
commanding the Old Guard. Mr. Stadler was 
married twice : in 1866 to Miss Josephine Contes, 
who died in 1885, and on June 21, 1888, to Miss 
Pauline Roesicke of Brooklyn, and has five 
daughters. 

A. B. HEINE, merchant. — Almost prophetic 
were the words of the distinguished lyric poet 
and namesake, Heine : "When you speak of the 
best of men, you must include him." A. B. Heine 
is indeed one of the best merchants of the age, 
combining at once the highest qualities of the old 
conservative school with the most advanced, far- 
reaching, most courageous methods known to 
that division of commerce of which he became a 
master mind. Liberated in his early life ancl 
business career from all the limitations which 
are so often the real impediment to genuine suc- 
cess, he soon made a mark quite equal to the 
foremost men in the business which to-day ranks 
second to none in magnitude, in volume, in 



wealth and progress. As an organizer of men 
and affairs it was only natural that his work 
should be crowned by that magnificent world in- 
dustry bearing his name. No merchant has 
proven more versatility, more originality in 
thought and action, no importer has made a 
clearer record, has been a truer friend of right 
and justice and a better advocate of correct 
business ethics and established sounder princi- 
ples, both in that branch of the Government ex- 
ecuting the customs laws, than has A. B. Heine. 
His voice was always heard in the forum when 
the Treasurer of the United States listened to the 
just complaints of the importing merchant; while 
his triumphs, his victories over dark and doubtful 
ways and means never inflated his mind in con- 
nection with the normal discharge of his duties 
to the trade and the individual. It is always rec- 
ognized that as a leader in all movements for 
the betterment of commerce, A. B. Heine takes 
no back seat; he is nothing if not first, foremost, 
true and strong. As a perfect harmonious mani- 
festation of these virtues stands that monument, 
"that city on the hills" of which both hemi- 
spheres speak in loud terms of praise and won- 
der; the largest industrial combination in em- 
broideries and kindred products. 

CHARLES PFIZER, manufacturer, was born 
at Ludwigsburg in Wuerttemberg, Germany, on 
March 22, 1824. He received a very thorough 
education in the schools of his native town, which 
furnished him with an excellent foundation so 
that he was able, in later years, to build upon it 
a rich fund of knowledge, although he never at- 
tended a college or other high institution of learn- 
ing. After leaving school, Mr. Pfizer served an 
apprenticeship in a drug and paint house at Mann- 
heim for several years. Having learned the 
business completely, he secured a position as con 
fidential clerk with a large exporting firm at 
Rotterdam, Holland, where he had occasion to 
extend his knowledge and to develop the quali- 
ties that were the reasons for his success in later 
years. In 1849 a business depression set in, 
partly in consequence of the political upheavals 
in Germany, and as all Europe suffered from 
these conditions, Mr. Pfizer decided to emigrate 
to America. Here, in a wider field, where his 
ability was not confined by narrow limits and tra- 
dition, he established himself in Williamsburg, 
then part of Brooklyn, as a manufacturer of 
chemicals, with an office on Beekman Street, in 
partnership with his brother-in-law, Charles F. 
Erhart. The firm rapidly acquired a reputation 
for the quality of their goods, for fair dealing 
and strict integrity, and the business grew from 



14ii SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



year to year. Mr. Pfizer* s knowledge of his 
trade was so complete, his education having given 
him the opportunity to master every detail, and 
lie was so eager to take advantage of every new 
discovery in his line that his firm soon hecame 
known as one of the most important and largest 
in its line, the factory in Brooklyn occupying 
-ome thirty-four city lots. In 1870 the business 
moved to Xo. 81 Maiden Lane where it is still 
carried < >n with a branch office in Chicago. Mr. 
Erhart died in 1891 and Mr. Pfizer retired from 
active business in 1900, when the concern was in- 
corporated and is now in the hands of his two 
sons, Charles, Jr., and Emile Pfizer, and his 
nephew. William H. Erhart. Mr. Pfizer was a 
Republican in politic- but never held public office 
though taking a warm interest in public affairs, 
and being widely known as a man of correct 
and sober judgment, reliable and worthy of es- 
teem and admiration. His long life has been a 
splendid illustration of the possibilities offered by 
this country to the German who brings ambition, 
intelligence and firm purpose to these shores, as 
well as of the great value of German emigration 
to the United States. Mr. Pfizer was married in 
1859 to Miss Anna llauseh and has five children. 
three sons and two daughters, viz.: Charles, Gus- 
tave, Emile, Helen and Alice, all of whom are 
living. Mr. Pfizer's death occurred October 19, 
1005. He was a member of the Germania Club 
of I'.rooklyn, of the Brooklyn Riding and Driving 
Club and of the Downtown Association of New 
York City. 

MICHAEL C. GROSS, lawyer, was born in 
New York City on February 18, 1838, as the 
son of German parents. He was educated in 
priva'' in New York and studied law. 

being admitted to the Bar he practised his 
profession in New York city and became rapidly 
known. Soon after reaching his majority he 
d a member of the Board of Council 
men from the Fifth Senatorial District and re- 
ted, serving in this capacity from 
[86] until [864 II'- had taken an active pari in 
politics as a Democral and displaying unusual 

ability as an orator, a- well as lawyer, it was 

natural that he u I to fill ;i judicial 

office. Elected in November, 1865, In- served as 

Justice of tin' Marine Court— the present City 

Court— from 1865 until January 1. 1S70 Since 

then ' oted himself to tin- practise of his 

ion. Although horn in America, Justice 

has always kepi in close touch with Ger- 

Vmericans, and with everything worthy of 

admiration and emulation produced by the conn 

try which gave birth to his parents Every n 



nunt tending to increase the knowledge of and 
appreciation for the achievements on the part of 
the German race in the realms of the arts, the 
sciences and literature has found in him a 
willing and enthusiastic supporter. He married 
in June, 1 866, and is a member of the German 
Liederkranz, German Society, German Hospital 
Association and German Club. 

JOHN" LOUIS SCHAEFER, merchant and 
banker, was born in .Yew York City on August 
4, 1867, the son of German parents, and educated 
in the public schools and the evening high schools 
of his birthplace. On leaving school, he entered 
the employ of a mercantile house and rose so 
rapidly that he was vice-president and director 
of the world-famed firm, the Wm. R. Grace 
Company, commission merchants and South 
American bankers, before he was forty. He is 
also a director of the Hamilton Bank Note Co., of 
the Xew York & Pacific Steamship Co., the Cuban 
American Fertilizer Co., the Nitrate Agencies 
Co. and of the Advisory Board of the Corn Ex- 
change Bank. Mr. Schaefer has taken a warm 
interest in the affairs of the Lutheran Church, 
with which he has been connected all his life, 
and is a trustee of St. Lucas Evangelical Luth- 
eran Church and the Wartburg Orphan Asylum. 
He was one of the organizers and founders of 
the Luther League movement in the United States 
Under the will of the late William R. Grace, the 
founder of the firm that bears his name, Mr 
Schaefer is trustee and treasurer of the Grace 
Institute for Girls. A Democrat in politics, he 
has never taken an active part in partisan strife, 
and is a member of the New York Athletic Club, 
Mariners Club and the Maritime Exchange. Mr. 
Schaefer was married in 1896 to Miss Susan 
Karsch and has four children. Bernhard J.. Louis, 
Jr., Kathryn C. and Susan Grace. 

AUGUST MIETZ, one of Xew York's fore- 
most manufacturers of marine and other types 

of engines, was born in the picturesque town of 
Wilsnack, Province of Brandenburg, Prussia, De- 
cember 1. iS.^.j, and like many of those who ap- 
pear in this volume, obtained Ins early and only 
schooling in the native town. Apprenticing him- 
self in iK.jo to a machinist, he learned that trade 

thoroughly; the foundation of the successful 

career ahead of him being laid by the close ap- 

plication which characterizes the German race. 
His aptitude fitted him for the vocation he had 
chosen at an early age, being only nineteen when 

ughl employment in Berlin. After six years 

of diligent work, three as a mechanic and later 
three years as foreman, which strengthened the 




LEONARD A. GIEGRICH. 



141 




CARL II s - 1/ 



142 




RICHARD A. FINN. 



143 




LOUIS \V\ HRAKA. 



144 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 145 



confidence in himself and prepared him for his 
immigration to the United States in 1859. He 
came here determined to succeed, remaining one 
year in New York, prior to his settling in the 
southern part of this country. He was not long 
in finding what he came for, a permanency in a 
city which afforded better opportunities. When 
the Civil War began, he moved back to New York 
City (1861), found employment as a machinist, 
then later as a contractor with the Aetna Sewing 
Machine Company and in 1874 opened an iron 
foundry and machine shop at No. 87 to 91 Eliza- 
beth Street, which was for years a necessity in 
that section of the city. Notwithstanding the suc- 
cess he attained, his ambition had not been 
achieved. He saw the importance of enlarging 
his interests, and not long thereafter purchased 
the adjoining property with the intention of erect- 
ing a modern plant for manufacturing purposes. 
His plans were carried out, and when his new 
building (at that time) at No. 128 to 132 Mott 
Street and connecting with the original foundry 
in Elizabeth Street was completed, his efforts 
were rewarded by great success on a much larger 
scale. In 1894 an opportunity presented itself to 
Air. Mietz and, realizing the possibilities it prom- 
ised, acted upon the suggestion that has since 
placed him at the head of engine manufacturers. 
In the above year Mr. C. W. Weiss, a native of 
Germany, and Mr. Mietz took out various joint 
patents on engines and they made an agreement 
together whereby Mr. Mietz, with the capital and 
equipped plant, took up the manufacture and sale 
of engines, giving them the name of the Mietz & 
Weiss engines. Mr. Weiss has charge of this 
department, with the result that Mr. Mietz to- 
day has become a factor as a manufacturer of 
engines which are patented in the United States 
and principal foreign countries, and exported to 
all parts of the world; over thirty thousand horse- 
power in operation. A new adjoining building 
was found necessary, and same was erected, 
making it one of the largest of its kind in the 
city. Having a frontage of one hundred and fifty 
feet on Mott Street, it runs through to Elizabeth, 
connecting the foundry. Mr. Mietz has spared 
no expense in the installation of modern ma- 
chinery for manufacturing purposes and to-day 
his name has become widely known through the 
stationary and marine, gas, oil and alcohol engines 
for which he finds an unlimited market. Gov- 
ernment bids have been awarded with the results 
as specified. Awards of the highest character, 
presented by the superior juries of the Paris, Pan- 
American, Charleston and the Louisiana Purchase 
exhibitions, are treasured by Mr. Mietz as tes- 
timonials of his workmanship. In his private life 



Mr. Mietz is a lover of the home circle. He be- 
longs to but few organizations, being a member 
of the Arion and Eichenkranz, a patron of the 
German Hospital and subscriber to various chari- 
ties, and has devoted a great portion of his spare 
time to study and the advancement of his indus- 
try. He has been president of the American 
Carbonate Company, manufacturing liquid car- 
bonate acid gas, the plant being erected at Nine- 
teenth Street, between First Avenue and Avenue 
A, for the past twenty-two years, and owns over 
three-quarters of the capital stock. This company, 
having a frontage of two hundred feet on Nine- 
teenth Street and running through to Eighteenth 
Street, is to-day the largest of its kind in this 
country, covering twelve city lots. He was the 
founder of this enterprise, but the active man- 
agement of the company he has entrusted to Mr. 
Emil Rueff, his son-in-law. Mr. Mietz is a wor- 
shiper at the German Lutheran Church. On 
June s, 1861, he married Miss Maria Lenz. Five 
children were born to them, two boys and three 
girls. One daughter, Mrs. Emil Rueff, survives. 
Mr. Mietz's personality is such that one never 
leaves him without a deep impression of his ster- 
ling qualities. His life has been one of honest 
endeavor and the enterprise that stands as a mon- 
ument to his genius represents what a man can 
accomplish with a strength of purpose. 

CHARLES C. CLAUSEN, brewer, was born 
in New York City on January 7, 1844, as the 
son of German parents. He received his educa- 
tion in the schools of his birthplace and entered 
the business founded by his father after gradu- 
ating. When the great change from old-fash- 
ioned to new and modern methods became nec- 
essary in the brewing industry, Mr. Clausen was 
one of the first to see the importance of the 
movement and devoted his whole energy to bring 
it about in the establishment in which he was in- 
terested. The immediate success following this 
upheaval, as it may justly be called, was a splen- 
did testimonial to his ability and foresightedness. 
Although born in America,, Mr. Clausen has taken 
a deep and active interest in the life and af- 
fairs of the German-American population, assist- 
ing in every movement inaugurated by them and 
worthy of success. His help and advice have been 
as readily given as eagerly sought. As an exam- 
ple of the American citizen of German descent 
who retains the love and admiration for all that 
is great and good in the history and the character 
of the German race, and is anxious to increase 
the influence of German immigration upon the 
slowly-forming character of the American people, 
Mr. Clausen stands in the front rank. In poli- 



14f. SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



tics a Democrat, he is a member of the Arion 

ty, the German Liederkranz and the Lu- 

theran Church. He was married on June 13. 

1872, t" Miss Henriette !•'. Knoche and has three 

children. 

WILLIAM SOHMER.— Of the old German 
towns whose sons have won marked recognition 
and distinction in this country, the historic Wuert- 
tenburg is important as the ancestral environ 
ment of William Sohmer. May _>6, 1852, wh- 
in sed the day of his birth, following which not 

than five years elapsed before his parents 
embarked with him to New York. With a public 
school education supplemented by a thorough busi- 

college course, as a foundation, Mr. Sohmer, 

at an early age. entered the insurance field, which 
at that time was in the early stage of it- devel- 
opment. After remaining a few years in the ser- 
vice of a prominent lire insurance company, Mr. 
Sohmer resigned the position of manager to es- 
tablish himself independently in the Metropolitan 
Bank Building at No-. 1 and 3 Third Avenue, 
where his offices have been located ever since. His 

unbounded enthusiasm and energy, coupled with 
the telling advantages of business sagacity and 
concentration of purpose, produced the natural re- 
sult of instantaneous recognition and today the 
name of William Sohmer is synonymous with 
the modern systematization and expansion of the 
insurance business in this city. The characteristic 
enterprise and compelling personality of Mr. 
Sohmer attracted unconscious attention on all 
sides and it was with a ei s< of confident gFati 

•1 thai his friends hailed his association with 
political and governmental institution-. In 1889 
the representation of the Tenth Districl was con 
tided to him and so conscientious was hi- fulfil- 
ment of the trusl that increasing majorities con- 
ns up' m him. Mr. Sohmer 

ippeared before the public as candidate for 
sheriff on the Democratic ticket and although it 
was an adversi election for the entire ticket, no 
little significance lies in the fad thai he led all 
his as ndidates by eighl thousand votes. 

In [89s he was elected register, again running far 
alxad of his ticket and at the expiration of his 

term was prominently mentioned as the Demo 

cratic mayoralty candidate for the ensuing ele< 
lion While the choice of the convention did not 
devolve upon him, he was nominated and trium- 
phant! >untj 1 lerk by a majority of 
over seventy thousand votes. Mr Sohmer's 

clean cut career serves to exemplify the aphorism 

that it is but consistent honest) and steadfast. 

of purpose that can ?tand the test of time. 

Highly honored in the rolls of Democracy and 



Tammany Hall, the office of Sachem has been 
dignified with his incumbencj and as chairman of 
the Executive Committee and Committee on Or- 
ganization and as a member of the Democratic 
State Committee, he served his party faithfully 
and with distinction. Mr. Sohmer is at present 
serving the state in the Senate and because of 
his varied and unlimited experience, and his pecu- 
liar adaptability to the functions of a legislator, is 
a forceful and interesting figure in that body. The 
artless simplicity and inherent frankness that go 
tn make up Mr. Sohmer's individuality assert his 
respect in the social world. He is a member of 
the Xew York Athletic Club, the Catholic Club, 
the Arion, Liederkranz, Eichenkranz, Xew Yorker 
Turn Verein, Beethoven Maennerchor, the Ger- 
man-American Schuetzen Club and the National 
Democratic Club. He has a brother in this city 
who i-, in the piano business. To those publicists 
who are watching for the finest result of assimi- 
lated citizenship in this country, William Sohmer 
has, by force of his own magnetic personality, ex- 
ercised an attention that ranks him high among 
the successful German-Americans whose standing 
has so contributed to the moulding of a true 
American nationality. 

THEODORE CLEMEXS HEITEMEYER 
was born at Paderborn in Westphalia on Sep- 
tember 26, [844, and received his education in 
the High School and the Gymnasium at Mini- 
ster, Westphalia. After various positions in the 

leather business he entered the firm of R. Xea 
maim & Co. and established with his present 
partner the manufacturing concern of tine fancy 
leathers in Newark, X.J. In [888 the firm, find- 
ing better inducements as regards location and 

commerce, erected their present large works 111 

Hoboken. Mr. Heitemeyer has been the man 
aging partner at the works from the start and 
still gives the greatest pari of his time to their 
supervision. The goods produced by the linn are 
known far and wide, and its success is not -ur- 
prising if it is borne in mind that thorough 
knowledge of the business in all its branches. 

strict integrity, enterprise and an unusual or 
ganizing and executive ability are combined in 

the person of on,- of its members. Mr. lleite 
meyer is one of those men who appear to he sur- 
charged with energy, hardly ever resting and 
observing with a keen eye whatever is important 
or of value. This valuable gifl of recognizing 

the importance of every detail, or, 011 the other 

hand, ever) defect almost before it manifests 
itself, together with the ability to decide quick 

ly what must be done. is one of his mOSl 

marked characteristics. Mr Heitemeyer has 



y 




<j7Luaa .^/iet&t<nae* 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 149 



traveled widely and is fond of social diversions. 
He is a member of the German Verein, Ger- 
man Liederkranz and Arion of New York and 
of the German Club of Hoboken and a director 
of the Trust Company of New Jersey. On July 
8, 1874, he was married to Miss Mathilde Wege- 
ner. Of his three children the son, Robert, is a 
partner in the father's firm; one daughter, El- 
frida, married Count Tareggi, and Elizabeth 
lives with her parents. 

WILLIAM KEUFFEL, manufacturer, was 
born at Walbeck, Germany, on July 19, 1838. 
He received his education in the public and pri- 
vate schools of his birthplace. At the age of 
fifteen he left school and became an apprentice 
in a general merchandise store where he re- 
mained for four years, receiving a severe but 
thorough mercantile and business training, which 
fitted him for the successful career of later 
years. He then entered the employ of a large 
hardware house in Hanover, Germany, from 
where, several years later, he went to Birming- 
ham, England. In 1866 he came to the United 
States where, in 1867, he founded, together with 
his friend, Hermann Esser, the firm of Keuf- 
fel & Esser, now so well known. Drafting was 
at that time in its infancy in this country and it 
was Mr. Keuffel's foresight which appreciated 
its coming importance accompanying the phe- 
nomenal development of American manufactur- 
ing and engineering enterprise. To supply all 
the requirements, in office and field, of the sur- 
veyor, engineer, architect and draftsman and 
make a specialty of this business was the pur- 
pose of the new firm and Mr. Keuffel can well 
be called the pioneer of this line, because, up to 
the founding of his firm, drafting supplies had 
not been carried exclusively by any house in the 
United States. The business, beginning in a 
very small way, was successful from the start 
and already three years later the firm published 
its first catalogue of drawing and surveying in- 
struments which has become a standard. Forty 
years of labor and progress see Mr. Keuffel at 
the head of the largest house in its line in the 
world. His factories at Hoboken are one of 
the landmarks of that city and cover over five 
and one-half acres floor space. The main store 
at 127 Fulton Street, New York, is a model es- 
tablishment, where every requisite of the engi- 
neer and draftsman can be found and where un- 
usual facilities are afforded for examining and 
testing the many delicate instruments of pre- 
dion included in this line. Similar stores are 
maintained at Chicago, St. Louis and San Fran- 
cisco, but the reputation of Keuffel & Esser 



goods is not confined to the United States, but is 
recognized over the inhabited world. The busi- 
ness which Mr. Keuffel established forty years 
ago, when only he and his partner comprised the 
entire force, employs to-day close to one thousand 
people. The great success which Mr. Keuffel 
has attained in building up a business of such 
magnitude and standing is due to his untiring 
energy, his farreeing understanding of the needs 
and the possibilities of his business, his indomita- 
ble will to overcome obstacles and his enthusi- 
asm which enabled him to call forth the best 
efforts of those working with and under him. 
His personality was so far above the average 
that those who met him could not help recogniz- 
ing it. Mr. Keuffel has been a resident of Ho- 
boken almost from the day he landed in Amer- 
ica and has taken a great deal of interest in 
public and social affairs in New York and Ho- 
boken, being a member of many prominent or- 
ganizations. He has, however, never entered 
politics. For many years he was the president 
of the Hoboken Academy, the well known Ger- 
man-American school, and later on he was much 
interested in the Manual Training School, of 
which he was a trustee for a number of years. 
He is also a member of the Advisory Board of 
the German Hospital and Dispensary. Mr. Keuf- 
fel has a fine summer residence at Elka Park 
of which association he is honorary president. 
On December 26, 1871, he married Miss Bertha 
Schneeberger of St. Louis. He has four chil- 
dren. 

CHARLES VINCENT FORNES.— Although 

a native of the United States and the son of a 
Frenchman who was brought to America by his 
father at an early age, Charles Vincent Fornes 
attributes a large part of his success in life to 
the influence of his mother, who came from Ba- 
den, Germany, and whose family name was 
Krumholz. Mr. Fornes was born on his father's 
farm in Erie County, N.Y., in 1848, as the sev- 
enth of nine children. When he was four years 
old the father, who had in the meantime re- 
moved to Niagara County, died and the widow 
had a hard struggle to keep the homestead and 
bring up the children. Until he went to school 
at the age of six, Charles V. Fornes spoke Ger- 
man only and had to learn English before he 
could play with his schoolmates. He was an ex- 
ceptionally bright and diligent scholar and when 
he had to give up attending the summer term be- 
cause his help was needed on the farm, he used 
the little money he could earn from time to time 
to buy books which he studied during the win- 
ter. He soon was able to earn enough money to 



150 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AXD THEIR DESCENDANTS 



pay iii^ way through Lockport Academy from 
which he graduated when sixteen years old The 
principal of this institution, B. M. Reynolds, was 
so much taken with the bright young man that 
he taught him Latin and Greek privately and 
offered to pay his expenses through Vale College. 
But Mr. Fornes's mother had become an invalid 
and needed his assistance and the dutiful son 
gave up the opportunity to enter upon a scientific 
career. He accepted a clerkship in the office of a 
grain dealer in Buffalo during the season of navi- 
gation and in the winter took charge of a dis- 
trict school in Erie County. His work there 
caused the superintendent of puhlic schools of 
Buffalo to offer him a principalship, which Mr. 
Forties accepted and held for three years. He 
then decided to devote himself entirely to mer- 
cantile pursuits and entered a wholesale cloth 
house as cashier and bookkeeper. Eight years 
later he formed the firm of Dahlmann & Fornes, 
which, in 1877, removed to New York and soon 
assumed the name of C. V. Fornes & Co. These 
are the milestones in a career which began hum- 
lily hut through untiring industry, sterling honesty 
and a keen grasp for public affairs was destined 
to round out beautifully. In 1889 Mr. Fornes 
was elected president of the Catholic Club and 
held this position until 1894. During this time 
the beautiful club-house on Central Park South 

noted, lie was a member of the committee 
of ■me hundred that had charge of the Columbus 

unial Celebration. In 1891 he was elected 
a trustee of the Emigrant Industrial Savings 
Bank, and since 1896 he has been the treasurer 
of the Catholic Protectory. He is also a di- 
rector of the City Trust Co., which he helped to 
organize. In tool Mr. Fornes was elected presi- 
dent of tlie Board of Aldermen, which position 
required him to act a- mayor of the city of New 
York during the absence of the mayor. 'I lie tact 
and ability he displayed during his term of of- 
fice brought about hi- reelect inn two years later. 
Mr. Fornes received the nomination for Congress 
of the Eleventh Congressional District and was 
elected to that bodj iii 1906 by a large vote. 

LOl'IS F. HAFFEN was born on November 

6, 1854, in the old village of Melrose, town of 

Morrisania, now part of the borough of the 

Mi- father was born in Germany in 1B14 

and had come to America in [832, while his 
mother, a descendant of an Irish father and a 
h mother, was burn in Ireland in [823 and 
America in [840. The father 
originally on a farm outside of Williamsburg, 
I I. bui moved to Melrose early in [851. Mr. 
Haffen received hi- first education in the village 



school of Melrose, where instruction in English 
and German was given, and from 1866-1868 in 
Melrose Public School. He attended St. John's 
College at Fordham from 1868 until 1869, and 
Niagara University at Suspension Bridge, X.Y., 
until 1871, returning to St. John's College until 
he graduated in 1875. He then entered the 
School of Mines, now School of Sciences, of 
Columbia University, and studied civil engineer- 
ing, graduating in 1879. He received the de- 
grees of A.B., A.M. and LL.D. from Fordham 
University and of C.E. from Columbia Univer- 
sity. After the completion of his studies Mr. Haf- 
fen engaged in the private practise of his pro- 
fession as civil engineer and city surveyor for 
several years, but in 1882 decided to study and 
practise civil and mining engineering in the Far 
West. Returning to Xew York in 1883, he was 
appointed engineer in the Department of Puhlic 
Parks and served as such until 1893, when he 
was promoted to the position of engineer in 
charge and superintendent of the new parks of 
the Twenty-third and Twenty- fourth Wards, city 
of New York and adjoining in Westchester Coun- 
ty. In 1893 he was elected commissioner of street 
improvements for the Twenty-third and Twenty- 
fourth Wards, now the borough of the Bronx, 
and reelected until the creation of the Greater 
City of New York, when he was elected the first 
president of the borough of the Bronx. This 
office he has held ever since, having been elected 
six times in succession to the highest office in 
the gift of the people of his territory. For ten 
years he has been the Democratic leader in the 
Bronx and he has seen how the district in which 
he was born grew from a collection of hamlets 
and villages to a city of nearly four hundred 
thousand inhabitants. Mr. Haffen was married 
in February, 1NS0, in Miss Caroline Kurz, who 
gave him nine children, eighl hoys and one girl, 
of whom six are living. 

JACOI', WEIDMANN of Paterson, N.J., was 
born at Thalweil in the Canton of Zurich in 
Switzerland, on May jj. 1845. "e was educated 
in the public schools of his birthplace ami ap- 
prenticed to a dyer when sixteen years old. He 
learned his trade thoroughly, being naturally am- 
bitious, and therefore not satisfied with master- 
ing the mere routine of the calling which he had 
Selected. The knowledge he thus acquired made 
it easy for him to secure employment when, in 

1867, he came to America. Me settled in South 
Manchester, Conn., ami was employed in the dy< 
ing plant of the large -ilk manufactory of Cheney 

Bros, from [867 until 1872. in that year the 
plan hi' had always cherished and never lost sight 




WILLIAM DEMUTH. 



151 




JOHN LOUIS SCHAKKKR. 



152 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 153 



of, to make himself independent, ripened and 
was successfully executed. Mr. Weidmann 
started a dyeing establishment in Paterson at the 
corner of Paterson and Ellison Streets. While 
large enough for that period, it was almost insig- 
nificant when compared with his present gigantic 
plant. It covered eight city lots and employed 
between one hundred and two hundred work- 
ing men. The capacity was from two thousand 
to two thousand five hundred pounds daily and 
the water was procured from the city with the 
exception of one artesian well. But the work 
done was of such superior quality and the in- 
tegrity and reliability of the proprietor became 
so quickly known and appreciated that a larger 
establishment was needed. The present plant 
was started in 1886 and covers now forty-three 
and one-half acres of ground. It is the largest 
dyeing establishment in the world, employs four- 
teen hundred hands and can handle from ten 
thousand to twelve thousand pounds of raw ma- 
terial every day. The question of procuring 
water in abundance, and of the right quality was 
of course of the greatest importance. Mr. Weid- 
mann had artesian wells drilled along the river 
bank opposite the plant and the growth of the 
business can best be indicated by the fact that 
while as late as 1896 fourteen of these wells 
were sufficient, the work now requires fifty-six 
of them, drilled to a depth of four hundred feet 
and furnishing every twenty-four hours about 
ten million gallons of fine clear spring water 
splendidly adapted for dyeing even when the 
most delicate shades are used. The operations 
of Mr. Weidmann's firm extend all over the Uni- 
ted States, and the plant is, as has been stated, 
the largest of its kind in the world. From what 
has been said it will be understood as a matter 
of course that Mr. Weidmann is much more than 
a dyer. He combines with a thorough knowledge 
of the technique of his business an exceptional 
gift for organization, for systematizing labor and 
methods in such a degree that large operations 
of a multifarious character can be carried on 
simultaneously without interfering with each 
other or causing confusion. The whole gigantic 
establishment is run so smoothly that delays 
which might interfere with the work to be done 
are practically unknown and as good as impos- 
sible, thanks to the genius of Mr. Weidmann 
for organization. Another trait of this remark- 
able man is his endeavor to make his employees 
feel that he takes great interest in them, and his 
success in doing this. He is ever watchful that 
they are well treated, and leaves nothing undone 
that can increase the comfort and the happiness 
of those whose work shows that they deserve con- 



sideration. His efforts in this direction are great- 
ly facilitated by his personality, for a man of 
more winning ways, with the engaging courtesy 
of a gentleman of the old school, can hardly be 
found. To this we must add a vigor and spright- 
liness seldom met with in a man of Mr. Weid- 
mann's years, and it will be understood at once 
that his great success was the natural outcome 
of his qualities. Mr. Weidmann is a Repub- 
lican in politics, a member of the Union League 
Club and third vice-president of the American 
Silk Association. He married in 1870 Miss 
Ellenor C. Cheney and has one daughter, Esther. 

THEODORE SUTRO, lawyer, was born at 
Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle), Prussia, on March 14, 
1845, youngest son of Emanuel and Rosa (War- 
endorff) Sutro. His father, a large cloth man- 
ufacturer and a man of literary and artistic 
taste, died in 1847, and three years later Mrs. 
Rosa Sutro emigrated with her seven sons and 
four daughters to the United States in order 
to find a better field for their future, the revolu- 
tion of 1848 having disturbed business affairs 
and prospects in Germany. She was a woman of 
rare beauty, intelligence and strength of char- 
acter, and educated her children with great care. 
Theodore Sutro received his education at the 
City College of Baltimore, where the family had 
located, at Phillips Academy, Exeter, N.H., at 
Harvard College, where he graduated with high 
honors in 1871, receiving the degree of A.B., 
and at Columbia Law School, New York City, 
where he graduated with the degree of LL.B. in 
1874, and in the same year was admitted to the 
Bar and commenced the practise of law. In 1878 
he was admitted to the Bar of the United States 
Supreme Court. While at Harvard, although he 
stood so high in his class that he was elected 
a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Fraternity, 
Mr. Sutro paid his own expenses in an unpre- 
cedented manner. At the close of his freshman 
year, he interrupted his studies for three years 
and accepted employment in a large importing 
house in Baltimore, after which he returned to 
college to complete his studies but at the same 
time established a commission business in Bos- 
ton, the profits of which paid his expenses at 
Harvard and for the rest of his law studies. Af- 
ter he had commenced to practise, Mr. Sutro gave 
this business to one of his former employers who 
had met with financial reverses. His practise 
was successful from the start; he devoted him- 
self mainly to the interests of corporations and 
mercantile houses, at first alone, and later as 
member of a law firm to which ex-Governor Ed- 
ward Salomon of Wisconsin also belonged and 



154 SUCCESSFUL < iFRMAX-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



which represented the- German and Austrian Gov- 
ernment- as well as many German institutions in 
New York City. In 1887 he saved the interests 
of the Sutro Tunnel Co. t''>r the stockholders 
who were threatened with foreclosure, and the 
able manner in which lie managed the litigation 
and reorganization of the company brought him 
much renown. In 1895 ' K ' accepted an appoint- 
ment as tax commissioner by Mayor Strong, and 
served in this capacity for three years, his great 
experience as a lawyer proving of much value 
to the department. Since then he has been en 
gaged in many complex tax and other litigations. 
A Democrat in politics, he has been identified 
with almost every movement for the betterment 
of existing condition-;, followed the late Oswald 

dorfer as president of the German-Amer- 
ican Reform Union and was a member of the 

I Money National Democratic Convent inn 
in [896, and of the National Democracy and the 

Democracy. Mr. Sutro is known as a pow- 
erful and convincing orator and has also writ- 
ten many poems and a number of essays and 
pamphlets on questions of taxation, corporation 
law, medical jurisprudence, mining, sociology, 
politic-, a- well as general literature. In 1904 
some of hi- occasional letter- and poems ad- 
dressed to his wife were gathered by her in a 
volume under the title of "Milestones on Life's 
Pathway," and which, though privately printed, 
attracted wide attention. He is also a musician 
and a connoisseur of art and in [905 a critical 
and historical work from his pen, entitled "Thir- 
teen Chapters of American History, Represented 
by the Kdward Moran Serie- of Thirteen His- 
torical Marine Paintings," elicited most favora- 

omment. Mr. Sutro i- connected with nu- 
merous clubs and scientific, literary, civic and 
other organizations, in most of which he has held 
important positions. 11<- has been president of 
the Societj of Medical Jurisprudence, i- a mem- 
ber of the City and Siat.- Bar Associations and 

tin- American Bar A :iation, of which latter he 

is chairman of the Committee on Taxation: the 
International Law Association, the National Tax 

ciation, the American Political Science \- 
sociation, Phi Beta Kappa Fraternity, Columbia 
University Alumni, the Phillip- Exeter ^.cade 
my Alumni, Harvard, Reform, German, Lieder- 
kranz, Patria and Drawing Room clubs; a foun 
der of the Signet Club of Harvard University, 
member of the Folk Lore Society, Genealogical 
and Biographical Society, West End Association; 
wa- vice-president of the United Real Estate 
Owners' Associations; is pre idem of the United 
German Societies; president of the German- 
American Alliance of New York State: dil 



of the German Language Society, Association 
of German Authors in America. German Social 
Scientific Society and a member of the German- 
American School Association; was vice-president 
of the Hundred Year Club; president of the 
Legal and Medical Aid Society; president of the 
Association for Public Duty; member of the 
Metropolitan Museum ni Art, Society for the 
ntion of Cruelty to Animals, Oratorio Soci- 
ety, Association for Improving the Condition of 
the Poor and the National Health League. Mr. 
Sutro has been especially active in all matters 
of interest and benefit to the German-American 
population of this country, and has served on 
many occasions a- their representative. On Oc- 
tober I, 1884, Mr. Sutro was married to Mis- 
Florence Edith Clinton, a descendant of the well 
known Clinton family of colonial times. Mrs. 
Sutro was a most beautiful woman of singular 
gifts and accomplishments in all the higher 
fields of human activity, and her home was a 
center of attraction to distinguished men and 
women in all walks of life. She died, much too 
early, when scarce forty-one, on April 27, 1006. 

CARL LKXTZ, lawyer, was born at Bam- 
berg in Bavaria on July 1, 1845. After attend- 
ing the schools at Jena and Wiesbaden in Ger- 
many ami receiving a good education, he came to 
America when little more than a boy. and on his 
sixteenth birthday enlisted for the Civil War. 
From July 1. 1861, until mustered out in Decem- 
ber, 1864, he saw almost continual service, was 
commissioned first lieutenant in May, [864, and 
severely wounded at the battle of Cedar Creek 
on October 19, 1864, losing his righl arm. After 
having received his honorable discharge, Mr. 
Lentz continued his studies at the Columbian Uni- 
versity at Washington, D.C., passing through the 
law school of this institution and graduating in 
1873. He settled in Newark, N.J., and engaged 
in the general practise of his profession with 
greal and lasting success. A Republican in poli- 
ties, lie took an active part in public affairs and 
served a- chairman of the Republican County 
Committee of K-sex County from [892 to 1906. 
He wa- also president of the State Board of Tax- 
ation of New Jersey. Mr. Lentz has always taken 

a lively interest in movements either inaugurated 
by citizens of German birth or descent, or likely 
to increase their welfare and influence. Himself 
a Herman by birth, he has never hesitated to ex- 
ert himself in the interest of his countrymen 
when his assistance could be of benefit. He has 

been for some time the president of the North- 

rn Saengerbund, an association composed 

of the German singing societies in all the states 




ADOLPH G. HUPFEL. 



155 




HENRY EGGERS. 



156 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 157 



between Lake Erie and Chesapeake Bay. In this 
capacity Mr. Lentz has displayed great tact and 
diplomacy, and thereby maintained the harmony 
so necessary to the success of an association of 
this kind. He is a member of the German Lu- 
theran Church and was married on October n, 
1876, to Miss Huldah E. Wildrick. One daugh- 
ter, Mrs. Wilhelmine Lentz Bailey, and one son, 
Carl Wildrick Lentz, are the fruits of this union. 

RICHARD A. FINN was born in Oelze in 
Thuringia, Germany, on February 21, 1856, and 
received his education in the public school of his 
birthplace until he came to America, when four- 
teen years of age. Here he attended public school 
for about one year in order to acquire a knowl- 
edge of the English language and then took a 
course in a business college. In 1873 Mr. Finn 
secured a position with the New Jersey Life In- 
surance Company which failed in 1877, when he 
was appointed a clerk in the controller's office. 
In 1881 the chief clerk and cashier of this office 
absconded, after having embezzled a large 
amount of money, and Mr. Finn was selected 
to replace him. Since then he has held these po- 
sitions under all the successive controllers of the 
city of Newark, ' whether Republicans or Demo- 
crats, and has in that time handled more than 
two hundred millions of dollars. Although com- 
ing in contact with all kinds of people in his 
daily work, Mr. Finn has remained true to the 
traditions he brought with him to this country 
and, while a patriotic American and a faithful 
official of an American city, has not lost his love 
for German customs, nor his pride in German 
achievement. All his children were educated in 
German schools of Newark and speak and write 
the language of the Fatherland perfectly. He 
seeks his social diversions mainly among his 
German compatriots, and is a member of the 
Aurora and Germania Singing Societies, the 
Newark Turn Verein, German Diogenes Lodge 
F. & A. M., and of many other social and benev- 
olent organizations. Mr. Finn is also secretary 
of two building and loan associations and treas- 
urer of Mt. Washington Lodge K. & L. of 
Honor. He takes a lively interest in all German 
affairs and is esteemed as a tower of strength in 
all movements affecting the German-Americans, 
as well as on account of the honor his career 
and character have conferred upon his country- 
men in their new home. 

AUGUST GOERTZ, merchant and manufac- 
turer, was born in Ohligswald near Solingen in 
Rhenish Prussia on September 23, 1846. He re- 
ceived his education in the schools of his native 



city and graduated from the high school when 
seventeen years old. Like practically the whole 
population of the district in which he grew up, 
his father was engaged in the business of manu- 
facturing cutlery and fine metal goods. As soon 
as the son had left school, he entered the father's 
factory and learned the business from the bot- 
tom up and as thoroughly as is the custom where 
whole families have followed the same calling 
for generations, and wholesome pride in the fame 
of the goods produced is fully developed. Young 
Goertz learned rapidly, but when he reached his 
majority, he followed the example of so many 
young men to whom the narrow confines of a 
small city and the conditions surrounding them 
became irksome and emigrated to America in 
1867. He settled at Newark, N.J., and readily 
found employment, for his skill was indeed ex- 
traordinary. While he had every reason to be 
contented, his ambition to be independent never 
left him and in 1881 he decided to strike out for 
himself. With two intimate friends he formed 
the firm of August Goertz & Co., and began 
manufacturing fancy metal goods in a factory 
on New Jersey Railroad Avenue. The business 
prospered from the start and the small plant soon 
proved to be insufficient. In 1885 the firm erected 
a new factory on Morris Avenue, which since 
then has been repeatedly enlarged. There more 
than three hundred working men are kept busy 
all the year and improved machinery is constantly 
added to increase the output. As a business man 
and manufacturer Mr. Goertz is widely known 
and the enviable reputation he has acquired shows 
what integrity, persistence and sagacity can ac- 
complish when combined with a thorough knowl- 
edge of business. At the same time Mr. Goertz 
has taken a great interest in public affairs and 
devoted much time to the German-American 
school on Beacon Street. He is a Republican but 
has never taken an active part in politics. A 
great lover of music, it was natural that he joined, 
soon after his arrival in Newark, one of the Ger- 
man singing societies, the Phoenix, as whose 
president he served for twelve years. He 
is a member of the Arion, the Germania and 
the Harmonie, as well as of several other socie- 
ties. Whenever the Germans of Newark under- 
took a larger task than usual, Mr. Goertz was 
ready with aid and advice. During the great 
National Singing Festival of 1891 he acted as 
chairman of the reception and prize commit- 
tees, and at the more recent festival of 1906 he 
was unanimously elected president and succeeded 
in conducting this immense and difficult enter- 
prise with so much skill and tact that not a 
breath of dissatisfaction was raised. He is one 



158 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND Tl I Elk DESCENDANTS 



of the many German- who came to tin- country 
with not much more than a noble character, a 
thorough knowledge of his business, and the firm 
determination to succeed, and who have achieved 
what they set out to do. Mr. Goertz is vice- 
president of the Wesl Side Trust Company, a 
member of the Chamber of Commerce and mem- 
ber of the Board of Directors of the German 
Hospital. He was married twice; on January 3, 
[872, to Miss Catherine Larouette, and on June 
6, IOOI, to Mrs. Minnie Noll (nee Dietz). His 
first wife gave him three children, Frieda, Paula 
and Fred, and Walter and Herbert are the fruits 
of his second union. 

BENEDICT PRIETH, journalist, was born at 
Graun in the Austrian Tyrol on January 7, 1827. 
He received a very superior education at the uni- 
ties of [nnsbruck, Graz and Vienna, where 
he studied law and received the degree of LL.D. 
A man of great knowledge and high attainments, 
he preferred the career of a newspaper editor to 
the practise of law, and settled in Newark, N.J., 
in 1857, founding the Xew Jersey Freie Zeitung, 
whose editor he remained until his death in 1879. 
His influence soon extended over the whole state 
and even beyond it- boundaries, and his counsel 
was eagerly sought by men interested in public 
affair-. A Republican in politics and always 
ready to fight for the principles he advocated, 
never wavering in his devotion to the cause he 
had embraced after carefully examining its right- 
eousness, he never accepted public office, although 
he could easily have secured it. Mr. Prieth did 
not only as-ist his countrymen, the German- 
Americans of his state, in every way possible, 
but he was of great value to them as a repre- 
sentative, his exceptional attainments winning for 
him the esteem and admiration of the whole com- 
munity, thus increasing the influence of the ele- 
ment with which he was identified. He was un- 
doubtedly one of the best and mosl powerful 
journalists German immigration has given to the 
United States, and his devotion to his ideals was 
instrumental in improving the tone of public di- 
ii and of everything in which he took an 
interest He lived to see the paper to which he 
had devoted his life's work become a powerful 
institution. Married in i860 to Mi-s Theodora 
Sautermeister, he left five children, Benedict and 
Edwin Prieth, Mrs. Henry Thielen, Mrs. Charles 
V Feick and Mr- Lothar W. Faber. 

JOHN' B. OELKERS, manufacturer, was horn 

at Algermissen near Hildesheim, Province Han 
over in Germany, on December 17. [846, and re 
ceived his education in the parochial school of 



his birthplace and later in a private school where 
students of the Gymnasium Josephinum in Hil- 
desheim, who prepare themselves for a career as 
teacher-, give instruction. At an early age he 
learned the trade of dama-k weaving from his 
father and was later on apprenticed to the mer- 
cantile house of Ferdinand Meyer & Co. in 
Braunschweig, where he had to attend a com- 
mercial school twice a week. Having thus re- 
ceived a thorough education in every sense of 
the word, Mr. Oelkers decided to emigrate to 
America, where he arrived in 1864, not yet 
eighteen years of age. Not afraid of hard work, 
he turned to what he could find, and was em- 
ployed for some time in an iron foundry. In 
1868 he formed a partnership with his friend. 
Christian Deppe, and established a factory for 
variety wood work and ivory articles. When 
celluloid was discovered and the use of this ma- 
terial became general, the firm, with clear per- 
ception of the possibilities, discontinued the mak- 
ing of ivory article- and used henceforth cel- 
luloid. Mr. Oelkers has been very successful 
in his business, using his knowledge to great ad- 
vantage and quickly establishing a reputation for 
honesty and reliability, but has found time to 
devote a considerable part of his energies to pub- 
lic affairs. A Democrat in politics, he served for 
many years as treasurer of the Democratic Com- 
mittee of Essex County, but resigned when Will- 
iam J. Bryan was nominated in 1896, and joined 
the Gold Democrats, attending the convention at 
Indianapolis that nominated Palmer and Buck- 
ner, as a delegate. He has been a member of the 
Board of Education of the city of Newark for 
seven years and in 1904 was appointed member 
of the Board of Fire Commissioners. Mr. Oel- 
kers belongs to many benevolent and social or- 
ganizations and is very active in German af- 
fairs, serving as first vice-president of the United 
Singers of Newark for seventeen years, and as a 
director of the Northeastern Saengerbund for 
twelve years. He is one of the most prominent 
figures in German Catholic circles and has de- 
voted much time and energy to their affairs, fill- 
ing the office of state president of the German 
Catholic Associations of New Jersey. For the 
last five year- he ha- been pre-iden! of the Ger- 
man Catholic Central Federation of the United 
State-, an association extending over all the 
of the Union and composed of close on to 
one hundred and twenty thousand members. Mr. 
Oelkers was married twice: to Miss Mary Uelene 
Schmitt, horn in Newark as the daughter of Ger- 
man parents, who gave him six children, of 
whom two boys and one daughter are alive, and 
after her death to Mi-- Elizabeth Mary Jackes, 




DAVID MAYER. 



159 




FREDERICK JOSEPH. 



L60 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 161 



also born in America of German parents, whose 
seven children, five boys and two girls, are liv- 
ing. At his home in Newark, Mr. Oelkers is 
respected and looked up to by the people of all 
classes and nationalities, regardless of their de- 
scent or religious belief. Although a positive 
and consistent Catholic, he is thoroughly liberal 
in his views and actions where others are con- 
cerned, conceding to everybody the right of full 
freedom in his convictions and opinions. No bet- 
ter proof of his popularity and the esteem he 
enjoys can be cited than the fact that he was 
elected a member of the Board of Education 
three times in succession with steadily increas- 
ing majorities in a district where hardly ten per 
cent of the voters are Catholics. 

HENRY EGGERS, merchant, was born in the 
province of Hanover in Germany on December 
31, 1850, and educated in the schools of his birth- 
place, supplementing his education by a course 
in the evening schools of New York City, where 
he graduated. At the age of seventeen, Mr. Eg- 
gers decided to seek his fortunes in America and 
landed in New York on August 13, 1868. He 
found employment as bookkeeper in the whole- 
sale grocery house conducted by John H. Brett- 
mann and remained there until 1872, when he ac- 
cepted a position as office manager with Mahnken 
& Morsehouse, likewise wholesale grocers, being 
promoted after a short time to the position of 
sales manager. After a few years he decided 
to make himself independent and on April 1, 1879, 
started in the wholesale grocery business under 
the firm name of Mohlman & Eggers, this being 
changed on May 1, 1884, to Henry Eggers & Co. 
The business grew rapidly to large proportions 
and has for many years amounted to several 
millions a year. This is due principally to Mr. 
Eggers's intimate knowledge of, and to his con- 
stant devotion to, the business. He declined all 
offers to become interested in banks or other en- 
terprises, believing that a director should really 
direct, and knowing full well that he could not 
spare the time to watch other affairs without 
neglecting his own interests. Mr. Eggers is a 
gentleman of the old school and believes in the 
strictest kind of honesty. His maxim, that six- 
teen ounces and not a particle less make a pound, 
governs all his transactions, and nothing can 
swerve him from the path of duty. He is just as 
firmly convinced that a man can only succeed if 
he does not allow other interests to interfere with 
his work. True to this belief, he does not spend 
much time in clubs or society, but devotes al- 
most every hour he can spare from his business 
to his family, where he is the beloved head of a 



charming and contented circle. His charity is as 
unostentatious as extended and while he is a 
member of and contributor to many hospital and 
other charitable associations, hardly a day passes 
without some person or some worthy cause re- 
ceiving substantial aid from him. Mr. Eggers is 
a member of Grace German Lutheran Church, 
the Arion Society, the Columbia Yacht Club and 
the Produce Exchange. He was married on Feb- 
ruary 12, 1885, to Miss Hermenia Schmidt and 
has six children, Hedwig, Henry who is associ- 
ated with his father in business, Hermine, Her- 
man, Helen and Elsie. 

HANS HOHNER, merchant and manufac- 
turer, was born at Trossingen in Wuerttemberg 
on April 25, 1870. His father, Matthias Hohner, 
born at Trossingen on December 12, 1833, was a 
clockmaker by trade, manufacturing his clocks 
during the winter and traveling during the spring 
and summer through Southern Germany and 
Austria in order to sell them. The hardships he 
encountered and the small profit he realized from 
this method of earning his living induced him to 
look out for something more promising. He was 
in the habit of carrying a few harmonicas or 
mouth-organs with his stock of clocks, and found 
that they were more easily disposed of. Slowly 
the conviction grew in him that he could do 
a much larger and more profitable business by 
devoting himself entirely to harmonicas if he 
could only procure them more cheaply by manu- 
facturing them on a larger scale. He put his 
idea into practise in 1857 when he ceased making 
clocks and started manufacturing harmonicas ex- 
clusively. His facilities were naturally limited 
but he found it very simple to produce the neces- 
sary tools, owing to his skill as a mechanic. Up 
to that time the making of harmonicas had been 
treated as a secret, but Mr. Hohner took a 
broader view of the matter and took into his 
employ everybody who wished to learn the trade. 
The sequel proved that he was right, for the 
business started in so humble a way has assumed 
gigantic proportions, and has changed the little 
village of Trossingen, where formerly only a few 
clockmakers carried on a small and unimportant 
industry, into a busy industrial center. From the 
very beginning Mr. Hohner followed two princi- 
ples strictly : Firstly, that all goods turned out 
by his factory must be perfect and first class in 
every respect, and secondly, that the process of 
manufacturing must be simplified to increase the 
rapidity of the output, and to reduce the cost. 
One of the first improvements he introduced con- 
sisted in cutting the metal plates from large 
sheets, instead of casting them singly as had been 



162 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



the custom. He also had his name stamped upon 
every instrument thai left the factory, and the 
excellence joods is best proved by the 

fact that in 1866, less than ten years after he had 

started his factory, part of a shipment of har- 
monicas was rejected by an American buyer be- 
cause, probably in consequence of an oversight, 
the name of the manufacturer had not been 
stamped upon the instruments. The buyer de- 
clared that harmonica- without the name Hohner 
were unsalable. In 1880 a new large factory 
was erected at Trossingen, and the first steam 
plant in that village installed. Later on branch 
factories were built in several of the neighbor- 
ing villages and the establishment of Frederick 
Hotz in Knittlingen in Saxony, which is reputed 
to have been the first harmonica factory in the 

world, was purchased. All the branches were 
equipped with modern and labor-saving ma- 
chinery. In September. 1900, Mr. Matthias Hoh- 
ner retired from active business, after forty-three 
year- of unceasing work. He placed the estab- 
lishment in the hands of his five sons, Jacob, 
Matthias, Jr., Andreas, Hans and William, who 
have continued it on the same lines. A concep- 
tion of its growth may he formed from the fact 
that it was started in 1857 with one working man 
and turned out six hundred and fifty harmonicas 
in the first year, while in 1007 it employed two 
thousand and fifty hands and produced nearly 
-even million instrument--, besides one hundred 
and fifty thousand accordeons, the manufacture 
of which was begun in 1003 in a factory especially 
erected for tin- purpose. Matthias Hohner, the 
founder of the firm which now enjoys a world- 
wide reputation, died on December II, 1002, be- 
loved and mourned by all who knew him. He 
was a member of the Chamber of Commerce and 
a trustee of the National Association of Musi 
cal Instrument Maker-, mayor of his native city 
for -i\ years and member of the Board of Conn 
cil for thirty years. The nomination for sena- 
tor offered to him by tin- National Liberal Par- 
ty of Germany be had declined. In the i 
time branch offices had been erected in New 
York, London, Toronto, Warsaw and Vienna. 
The fourth -on of the founder. Han- Hohner, 
took charge of the New York office, the most 

important of all. for America had from the 'art 

taken a large part of the output. Hi- headquar- 
ters were at first at 354 Broadway, but were moved 

idwav after the building mentioned had 

Keen destroyed by fire. Mr. Hans Hohner was 

ted in the schools of his native city anil 

die High School of Commerce at Stuttgart, where 
he graduated with honors. Since 1890 he has, 
with short interruptions, been a re idenl of 



New York City and succeeded not only in con- 
tinually extending the business of the firm but 
also in making many warm friends. He was mar- 
ried in 1893 to Miss Caroline H. Birk, and is a 
member of the Arion Society. 

CHARLES CHRISTIAN WEHRUM was one 
of those Germans who have achieved success ill 
America entirely by their own efforts, and who 
base -urmounted obstacles which only excep- 
tional qualities can deal with. He was born at 
Pirmasens in the Rhenish Palatinate on October 
1, 1841, and came to America in January, 1852, 
after having attended the schools of his native 
city for a few years. His parents settled in 
Third Street, near Avenue A. New York City, 
and the boy was sent to Public School No. 13 in 
Houston Street. When he was thirteen years old 
his mother died, and he went to East Cambridge 
for one year to learn the art of wood carving. 
Returning from school, he worked for four 
years at making gilt mouldings, and was for a 
while associated with his stepfather in the deco- 
rating business. At the outbreak of the Civil 
War, young Wehrum, hardly nineteen years old, 
enlisted at Fort Warren in the Twelfth Massa- 
chusetts Infantry, commanded by Colonel Flet- 
cher Webster, the only son of the great Daniel 
Webster, who had outlived the father. After 
the two months for which he originally enlisted 
had expired he reenlisted and took part in every 
campaign of his regiment until he was mustered 
out with the rank of captain in July, 1864. Dur- 
ing that time he saw a great deal of active ser- 
vice and participated in thirty-three battles. At 
Antietam he was severely wounded but rejoined 
his command as soon as he could leave the hos- 
pital, and was commissioned adjutant on account 
of his soldierly qualities and high order of in- 
telligence. He was again wounded at Gettysburg 
but took part in the campaigns under General 
('■rant until mustered out. The value of his ser- 
vices is eloquently attested by the following sen- 
tence, added by his colonel to his discharge: "In 
character a brave and excellent officer, distin- 
guished for energetic attention to his duties in 

camp or field, always reliable, always at hi- post 
of duty." The young captain — for he was only 
twenty three years old — returned to New York 
and entered the employ of a firm dealing in lum- 
ber, some years later known as C. W. Allcott 
& Co. Here, too, he was "always reliable, al- 
way- at hi- post of duty," and rose from -tep to 
-tep, until eight years later he was admitted to 

partnership. Under his management the firm 
grew to be one of the largest in its line in the 
city, and Mr. Wehrum amassed a fortune large 




HEINRICH CONRIED. 



163 




a MF.R. 



U.4 




ADOLPH C. HOTTEXROTH. 



165 




CHARLES VINCENT FORNES. 



K.6 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 167 



enough to permit him to retire in 1889. This 
did not mean to him that he should live out his 
life in idleness but he had now the time and 
opportunity to devote himself to matters that 
had always appealed to him. He became a stu- 
dent of the Civil War and wrote a number of 
monographs dealing with different events and 
phases. Among them are a sketch treating the 
beginning of the war, an exhaustive study of the 
great battles, separate papers on the battles of 
Antietam, Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, the Wil- 
derness and Spottsylvania Court House, a treatise 
covering the actions of the Army of the Poto- 
mac after Gettysburg and a sketch of the end 
of the war, including personal reminiscences. 
Many of these papers were read before organiza- 
tions of veterans and other associations, and in 
a series of lectures in the Normal College of the 
City of New York Mr. Wehrum went over the 
same ground before large and enthusiastic audi- 
ences. While never active in politics and de- 
cidedly independent in the treatment of all public 
questions, Mr. Wehrum was appointed a com- 
missioner of education by Mayor Grant in 1891. 
In this capacity he made a brilliant record. He 
devoted practically his whole time to the dis- 
charge of his duties and displayed such syste- 
matic and practical activity that he was soon rec- 
ognized as one of the ablest members of the 
board. He fought with energy and insistence for 
the continuation of instruction in the German lan- 
guage in the public schools which was threat- 
ened by some of the authorities on the ground 
that the knowledge of more than one language is 
of the greatest benefit and an important educa- 
tional factor, and that in a city with so large a 
population speaking German it was a matter of 
course that this language should be selected. He 
took the initiative in the movement to secure 
pensions for teachers who were compelled to re- 
tire on account of advanced age, and to his ef- 
forts the success of this measure was due. When 
the bill finally passed the Legislature Governor 
Flower expressed his admiration to Commis- 
sioner Wehrum for the energy with which he 
had pu c hed it until it became a law. He was re- 
appointed by Mayor Strong but resigned before 
the expiration of his term in October, 1896, on 
account of ill health, to the great regret of all 
friends of the public schools. Mr. Wehrum was 
married on May 26, 1868, to Miss Elizabeth 
Schumacher of Buffalo, who died on November 
2 5, 1905, and left him seven children, six sons 
and one daughter. He was a member of the 
Twelfth Regiment Massachusetts Association, 
Reno Post G.A.R., St. John's Guild, German Hos- 
pital Association, German Society, Presbyterian 



Hospital, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Amer- 
ican Museum of Natural History and the Loyal 
League, also a Mason of Eastern Star Lodge No. 
227 and Empire Chapter No. 170. His death oc- 
curred March 11, 1908. 

EDWARD PAUL REICHHELM, manufac- 
turer, was born at Striegau in Silesia, Germany, 
on November 13, 1843, and came to America with 
his parents in 1848, when five years old. He re- 
ceived his education in a country school and later 
in Dr. Dulon's German-American Academy, one 
of the first German-American schools in this 
country and justly celebrated for its excellence. 
After graduation he studied mechanical engi- 
neering at Cooper Institute at night, while ap- 
prenticed to the firm of A. & F. Brown at the 
age of sixteen, to learn the trade of machinist. 
When the war broke out, young Reichhelm's en- 
thusiasm induced him to run away from home 
and to enlist in the Third Missouri Infantry on 
September 5, 1861. He rapidly gained promotion 
and was advanced from grade to grade, until he 
received a commission as lieutenant in the Fifty- 
first United States Colored Infantry, being ap- 
pointed regimental adjutant and mustered out on 
June 16, 1866, with the rank of captain. Mr. 
Reichhelm saw hard and severe service and took 
part in twenty-three battles, among them Pea 
Ridge and the taking of Vicksburg. He was 
wounded several times and repeatedly commended 
for bravery upon the battlefield, at Pea ridge, 
Arkansas Post, Chickasaw Bluffs and the assault 
upon Vicksburg on May 22, 1863. After re- 
turning from the war Mr. Reichhelm was em- 
ployed as a clerk until 1873, when he established 
himself in the business of manufacturing and sell- 
ing mechanics' tools. In 1876 the firm of E. P. 
Reichhelm & Co. was founded and began busi- 
ness at 65 Nassau Street, and in 1886 Mr. Reich- 
helm organized the American Gas Furnace Com- 
pany, of which he is president, and which is en- 
gaged in utilizing several of his inventions for 
the better use of gas in mechanical heating proc- 
esses. The plant of this concern is located at 
Elizabeth, N.J., and employs many skilled me- 
chanics. The system of heating invented by Mr. 
Reichhelm has been adopted by many of the sci- 
entific departments of the United States Gov- 
ernment, especially by the Bureau of Standards, 
the Mints and the Arsenals. It is also exten- 
sively used by scientific schools and colleges, 
among them Columbia University, Stevens Insti- 
tute, University of Minnesota, McGill University 
of Montreal, Cornell University and many oth- 
ers. It has found its way abroad and is in use 
in the British Mint, the British Arsenal, the Im- 



5UO ESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



perial German Gun Factory at Spandau and in 
the plants of large private concerns like Siemens 
& Halske of Berlin. The company has dealings 
with practically all the large firms in this line in 
the United Si the Westinghouse Com 

pany, the General Electric Co., U.S. Steel Cor- 
on and many others. .Mr. Reichhelm has 
received many medals and awards in recognition 
of the value of thi- system of heating, among 
them the John Scott Legacy medal of the Frank- 
lin Institute of Philadelphia, several medals from 
the American Institute and a number of exposi 
tion prize- In [900 Mr. Reichhelm established 
the American-Swiss File & Tool Company at 
Elizabeth, N.J . for the purpose of making only 
the finest grade of files which, up to that time, 
had been exclusively supplied by Swiss file ma- 
kers who alone were able to turn out the finer 
grades. This new enterprise was based upon a 

wide experience of treating Steel under heat, ami 
a long serie- of experiments, la-ting over four 
Iving new methods in making files 
which r. suited in the production of the best files 
in the world. This was quickly recognized, and 
at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904 Mr. Reich 
helm received the first prize, a gold medal, for 
the file- he exhibited. Mr. Reichhelm i- a re 
ident of Hudson County, N.J.. i- an independent 
Republican and takes an active interest in all 
movements for good government ami the better- 
ment d existing conditions. IK- i- presidenl of 
the Park Commission of Bayonne, a member of 
the Masonic Fraternity, Loyal Legion, Cooper 
Union Alumni Association, G.A.R. Post Geo. 
II. Thomas N New Jersey, the Anon 

Society, Schubert (dee Club and Cosmo- ('lull 
of Jei 1 Mr Reichhelm attends the Firsl 

Reformed Church of Bayonnc. ()f hi- five chil- 
dren, three are alive: two -.m- who are associ- 
ated in business with the father, and one unuiar 
ried daughter. Mr. Reichhelm takes an occasional 
trip to Europe, hut like- 1110-t to spend his leisure 

time in reading and studying. Mi- favorite sub 

political economy, and In- finds great 
pleasure in evolving invention- and designing new 

method- that tend to improve the product 

vhich enjo) the reputation of be 

ing the best of their kind. 

LEOPOLD STERN, manufacturer and im- 
porter and senior member of the firm of Stern 
Brothers & Company, was horn at Monzii 
Germany. Thirty seven years ago Mr Stern 
to New York, where I ided con- 

tinuously ever since. He ha- always taken great 

• in public affair- In 1001 he was ap 

. ernor Roosevell a commis ioner 



to the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo. He 

has always been identified with the Republican 
party and in 1896 was a McKinley elector; he 
i- a trustee of Bellevue and allied hospitals; a 
director of Market and Fulton National Bank, 
the Great Eastern Casualty Company ; as well as 
a trustee and director in a number of other in- 
stitutions. Mr. Stern is a member of the Freund- 
schaft and Republican clubs; a member of the 
Chamber of Commerce, also a member and trus- 
tee of Temple Beth El. He married in 1883 and 
has two son-, Nathan J. and J. Ernest. Mr. Stern 
i- a man of unassuming manner-, of an agreeable 
personality and is charitable to a marked degree. 

JACOB WOLFGANG MACK, merchant, was 
born at Eurth in Bavaria on February 25, [845, 
and educated in the schools of his native city. He 
came to New York in 1863 and subsequently en- 
gaged in the machinery business with pronounced 
success. Mr. Mack has taken a lively interesl in 
public affairs and in almost every movement in- 
augurated to reform the administration of the 
city. His zeal in this direction has brought him 
a wide acquaintance, and his assistance has been 
as eagerly sought as readily given. He is of 
studious disposition, fond of literature and ex 
ceptionally well read, and an accomplished lin- 
guist, having studied and learned almost all im- 
portant language-, some of them during the time 
he could spare from his business. His accom 
plishments, and the attention he had paid t<> 
educational matters, led to his appointment as 
commissioner of education. He served two terms 
in this capacity and was one of those to whom 
the city of New Yofk i- indebted for the i 
duction of modern methods in its public schools 
and the extension of the whole educational sys 
tem. Mr. Mack is a member of the Harmonie, 
German Liederkranz, National Arts, City Re- 
form. Lawyers' and Century Country clubs, the 
Chamber of Commerce, Metropolitan Museum of 
\ri. Museum of Natural History, Geographical 
Society and many other social and scientific as 
sociations, a- well a- vice president of the Society 

for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. 

JOHN MARTIN OTTO.— Among those who 

have been iiist runieiit al in the progressiveness 

of Williamsburg, New York City, the subject 
of this sketch has been foremosl in his support, 

nol only in an industrial way, but ha- devoted 
!■ ■table time and energy to all matters per- 
taining to the development and welfare of that 
section of Greater New York in which he resides. 
Mr. Otto was born at Thalheim. W'uerttembcrg, 
Germany, November t8, [843, where he received 




OTTO WISSNER. 



169 




WILLIAM PI l l R. 



170 




JOHN CHRISTIAN GLASER HUPFEL. 



171 




CARL FREDERICK GO] 



172 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 173 



his early education, and only schooling, in the 
German public institutions, which have always 
been noted for their thoroughness. He entered 
upon his life's work at an early age, taking up 
the trade of cornice manufacturing, sheet iron 
working, etc. He was an apprentice in that line 
for three years and every spare moment was 
utilized for profiting himself in the vocation he 
had chosen. It was not until i860 that Mr. Otto 
decided to come to this country and establish a 
business for himself, but the undertaking was not 
accomplished until 1865, when he founded his 
present establishment, which is located at Xo. 46 
Maujer Street, Brooklyn. It was not long be- 
fore his personality brought him many friends 
and his business interests grew rapidly. When 
the Civil War broke out he was one of the first 
to offer his services ; he enlisted and saw active 
service throughout the entire campaign. He was 
honorably discharged from service. It was im- 
mediately thereafter that he began devoting his 
entire time and attention to the establishing of 
his present business. In 1872 he received patents 
on "Otto's Iron Surface Coolers and Swimmers," 
which, in 1876, received the highest award at 
the World's Exhibition at Philadelphia, and are 
the only ones so honored. These coolers of which 
he is the sole manufacturer and patentee, have 
many advantages over all other surface coolers. 
Formerly it was an often repeated complaint that 
surface coolers always leaked and could only be 
kept tight by a great expenditure of time and 
money. By using these improved and patented 
surface coolers, all these difficulties are overcome. 
One great improvement consists in the arrange- 
ment of T-irons under the joints, between the 
several sheets of iron, which constitute the bot- 
tom of said pan, in such a manner that by such 
T-irons the bottom is strengthened and the edges 
of the sheets of iron are prevented from bulging 
up, thereby producing a flat and even bottom, 
which is a great desideratum in cooling pans. The 
rim of the pan is formed by bending the extreme 
edges of the outer sheets upward to the desired 
height, and said rim is strengthened by angle- 
irons, which are riveted to it, extending through- 
out its entire length and width. By means of 
these T-irons the joints between the several 
sheets are rendered tight and perfectly flat, the 
sheets being effectually prevented from bulging 
up, so that a cooling pan is obtained which is 
superior in strength and durability to cooling 
pans as heretofore constructed, and in which the 
operation of cooling can be carried on with ease 
and facility. The swimmers, as made by Mr. 
Otto, were in use for some years in many 
of the large breweries in New York, Brooklyn, 



Newark, Boston, Union Hill, Staten Island, etc 
These swimmers are made out of XXX X tin, 
are easy to handle and so formed that they need 
no special weights to keep them in proper posi- 
tion. They are no doubt the best, most dura- 
ble, practicable and cheapest swimmers that are 
manufactured. Their form also gives them the 
advantage above all others, that they balance 
themselves and do not sink. Throughout his long 
and successful career he has always been held in 
the highest esteem by his fellow citizens and 
through honest endeavor and hard work he has 
built up one of Brooklyn's largest enterprises. In 
politics he has always been a stanch Republican; 
his first vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln in 
1864. Aside from exercising his franchise right, 
Mr. Otto has never aspired to hold any public 
office ; he has always contributed liberally to the 
Republican cause in the securing of good gov- 
ernment. Mr. Otto is identified with many fra- 
ternal and social orders ; most prominent among 
them are Mansfield Post of Brooklyn, Coper- 
nicus Lodge No. 545, Masonic Order, a member 
and trustee of Williamsburg Masonic Board of 
Relief ; a director of the German Savings Bank 
of Brooklyn, Arion Singing Society and of the 
German Lutheran Church. It was during the 
early part of his business life that he met Miss 
Agnes Roehr and on the eleventh of November, 
1866, they were married. To this union have been 
born four children : three sons, Martin, Frederick, 
Carl L., living, and a son and one daughter now 
deceased. Mr. Otto has given his sons a very 
careful training for their life work, with a thor- 
ough education. He has been rewarded by seeing 
them develop into successful business men. Carl 
studied architecture at Columbia College and com- 
pleted his profession in the Paris Ecole des Beaux 
Arts, from which he graduated. Upon his return 
to this country he opened offices at 130 Fulton 
Street, New York City, and has since then been 
identified with many important architectural en- 
terprises. He has constructed several large 
churches in Brooklyn, the German Presbyterian, 
corner Bushwick Avenue and Ralph Street, Ger- 
man Baptist Church, corner Evergreen and Wood- 
bine Streets, and several others, and he gives 
every promise of becoming one of the best in his 
chosen profession. 

CHARLES ENGELHARD, merchant and 
manufacturer, was born at Hanau-on-the-Main, 
on March 8, 1867. His father was Julius Engel- 
hard, a diamond merchant at Hanau, who died 
in 1897. His mother, who is still living, was Su- 
sanne Holzmann, daughter of Philip Holzmann, 
the founder of the firm of Philip Holzmann & 



174 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCEXDAXTS 



Co. at Frankfort, one of the largest building and 

engineering concerns in the world. Mr. Engel- 
hard received his first education at the Realschule 
of his native city, but was, on account of delicate 
health, entrusted to the care of the Reverend 
Seeger at Seckmauern in the Odenwald, where 
he was given private instruction. He completed 

lucation at the Bender Institute at Wein- 
heim in Baden and passed the examination secur- 
ing the right for one year's voluntary service in 
the Army. After graduation, Mr. Engelhard 
worked as apprentice in the banking-house of A. 
Mumm & Co. at Frankfort-on -the-Main for two 
and one-half years, when he went to London 
where he was employed as clerk for two years. 
He then returned to llanau. assisting his father 
in his business until in 1891 he came to America 
and established himself in New York as the 
representative of W. C. Heraeus, platinum works, 
at Hanau. This is one of the largest establish- 
ments of its kind and known all over the world. 
One of the members of the firm is the brother- 
in-law of Mr. Engelhard. His activity is by no 
means confined to this branch. Under the firm 
name of Charles Engelhard. Mr. Engelhard does 
e importing business on his own account, and 
i- the president of the American Platinum Works 
at Newark. X.J., a director of Raker & Co., Inc., 
and president of the Eianovia Chemical & Mfg. 
1 E tlie same city; director and treasurer of 
the Glorieux Smelting & Refining Work- of 
[rvington, X.J., and director of the American 
Electric Furnace Co. of New York City. Mr. 
[hard i- a member of the German Club, Ger- 
man Liederkranz, German Society, Legal Aid 
Society, Chemists' Club, American Chemical So- 

1 i.in Hospital Society, St. Marks' Hos 
pital Society, Yew York Diet Kitchen Association 
and many other benevol inizations, and 

belongs to the Dutch Reformed Church. Mi~ 

al grandfather was the last teacher of the 
Dutch Reformed School of the Huguenot set- 
tit at 1 lanati on the Main. On April iS, 
IOOO, Mr. Engelhard was married to Miss F.my 
Canthal, eldest daughter of Commercienrath Can- 
thai of 1 lanau. 

EMIL WELTE, importer and manufacturer, 
was bom at Voehrenbach in the Black Forest in 
Baden on \p r il 20, 1841 lb received his early 
education in the s ( -h,„)ls f his birthplace and 
learned the trade of making orchestrions in the 
ry of his father, attending at the same time 
the Gewerbeschule \ further musical instruc- 
tion followed by Hof Kappell, Meister Joseph 
Straus in Karlsruhe in harmonick of instrumen- 
tation. The father, Michael Welte, had 



educated by an uncle who was secretary to Bishop 
von Wesenberg but had been transferred to a 
small town on account of his liberal political 
views. Mr. Welte's uncle was a man ni superior 
attainments and instructed the nephew in nii:< ; c, 
physics, natural history, mathematics, etc. At 
that time the industry of making musical clocks 
striking chimes at every quarter of an hour was 
carried on extensively in the Black Forest and 
young Welte used his knowledge in improving 
the rather primitive product by enlarging the 
scale and inserting two or more stops for the 
pipes. In 1845 he received an order from one 
of the traders who visited the district once a 
year to buy clocks, for as complete a musical 
clock as he could make, lie worked on this in- 
strument for three years and succeeded in pro- 
ducing something entirely new, imitating all the 
different instruments of a complete orchestra, in- 
cluding the bass drum, snare drum and the tri- 
angle and playing Beethoven's symphonies as well 
as overtures, opera selections, marches and dan- 
ces. The instrument was exhibited in 1S49 under 
the protectorate of Prince Fuerstenbcrg ami met 
with enormous success, the press calling it an or- 
chestrion, which designation has remained. Mi- 
chael Welte continued to improve his invention 
and orders increased, but for a long time orches- 
trions were built only when ordered and practi- 
cally all the orders came from foreign countries. 
In 1865 it became necessary to send a representa- 
tive to the United States and the oldest son, Kmil 
Welte, was selected. He opened a store and 
showroom on Fifth Avenue and soon did a 
thriving business. When he found that the 
wooden cylinders could not withstand the change 
of climate, he invented the pneumatic action 
worked by paper rolls in 1S7S t.. 1883 for which 
cured patents and which have since then 
been successfully employed with other instru- 
ments \ complete orchestrion represents all the 
instruments of an orchestra from the d< 
note of the contra basso to the highest note of 
the piccolo. Six hundred labia pipes rep- 
tile full string quartette, the flute and piccolo, 
trombone, bass 1, trumpet, English horn, clario- 
nets and oboes represented by one hundred and 
seventy reed pipes, and by the combination with 
the labia pipes, the character and the individu- 
ality of the orchestral instruments are repre- 
sented in a most realistic manner. Resides these, 
all the other instruments perform in perfect pre- 
cision, and in harmony, piano and forte as re- 
quired. The orchestrion music rolls reproduce 
practically every piece of music played by an or- 
chestra. The sale id these instruments has in- 
creased immensely and many of the crowned 




JOHN EICHLER. 



175 




fAI OB RUPP1 RT. 



176 




HERMAN JOSEPH. 



177 




PH J SI HAEFEK. 



178 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 179 



heads of Europe and other continents, as well as 
men of the highest standing in every country of 
the globe have bought them. Mr. Emil Welte is a 
member of the German Liederkranz. In 1871 he 
married Miss Emma E. Foerstner of Norwich, 
Conn. His son, Carl M., is associated in business 
with the father and both associated with M. 
Welte and Soehne in Feiburg, Baden. 

GEORGE C. DRESSEL, manufacturer, was 
born in 1828 at Frankfurt-on-the-Main and re- 
ceived his education in the schools of his native 
city. When he reached his majority, Mr. Dressel 
decided to find a larger sphere of activity and 
emigrated to America, where he arrived in 1849. 
He had taken passage on a sailing vessel, the day 
of elegant and fast steamers not yet having ar- 
rived, and the trip was connected with consid- 
erable hardship. But the young man came full 
of hope and energy and with the firm resolve to 
succeed. He entered the employ of the New 
York Central & Hudson River Railroad, after 
working for some time as mechanic, and remained 
with them for eighteen years in the capacity of 
expert mechanic. In 1881 he resigned his posi- 
tion and entered into partnership with his young- 
est son, Frederick W. Dressel, under the firm 
name of George C. Dressel & Co. A small fac- 
tory was erected on the north side of One Hun- 
dred and Seventy-third Street which still stands 
and forms not only an interesting landmark but 
also shows how small the beginning of the pres- 
ent immense plant was. The firm started by man- 
ufacturing a practical lunch satchel for railroad 
men and mechanics. The manufacture of signal 
lamps was later begun and this venture met with 
such success that the manufacture of lunch boxes 
was discontinued and the entire time and energy 
devoted to making and improving all kinds of 
lamps used in railroading. The eldest son, Charles 
H. Dressel, became a member of the firm in 1892, 
and the original establishment proved too small. 
A tract of land on Park, then Vanderbilt, Av- 
enue was acquired in 1893 and the present fac- 
tory erected in the following year. The new 
plant was equipped with the best and most mod- 
ern machinery that could be secured and the firm 
began to further extend its field by the manu- 
facture of locomotive headlights. All the mem- 
bers of the firm being experts in mechanics 
and of an inventive turn of mind, they constantly 
made improvements and secured patents which 
proved of great value. Many of the articles man- 
ufactured by the concern have been accepted as 
standard by the largest railroads in the United 
States. On January 15, 1895, the firm was in- 
corporated under the laws of the state of New 



York under the name of the Dressel Railway 
Lamp Works, with George C. Dressel as presi- 
dent, Frederick W. Dressel as vice-president and 
Charles H. Dressel as secretary. When Mr. George 
C. Dressel died on July 3, 1899, after an illness 
extending over a number of years, Frederick W. 
Dressel was elected president and Charles H. 
Dressel vice-president, in which capacity they still 
serve. The products of the firm have been sold 
and are used all over the United States and Can- 
ada, and in recent years they have also been sold 
to Mexico, Cuba, South America, China and 
Japan. The continual growth of the demand for 
the goods made by the firm led to plans for an- 
other increase of the plant and the addition of 
new products, such as electrical goods, navy lan- 
terns, automobile lamps, etc. The large factory 
is run in a most systematical way, which makes it 
a model establishment. The basement is used as 
a storeroom for the material. On the first floor 
we find the machine shop, press room, packing 
and shipping departments and offices. The lighter 
grades of work, such as spinning, assembling and 
japanning, are done on the second floor, while 
the third floor is entirely used for the manufac- 
ture of locomotive headlights, with the exception 
of some space occupied by the buffing, plating 
and polishing departments. Each department is 
practically independent, being managed by a fore- 
man who is responsible to the firm direct, every 
item of expense being charged to the department 
requiring the outlay. In the same way salaries 
and running expenses are divided. In this way 
the management knows at all times how the sep- 
arate departments are conducted, while at the 
same time the different foremen are compelled 
to use their knowledge and ability in the inter- 
est of the business to the fullest extent. Sev- 
eral years ago the firm added its own foundry 
and tinning plant to the factory, enabling it to 
construct every part of their product except 
steel, glass and sheet metals. The magnitude of 
the operations may be understood from the fact 
that while every railroad lamp serves practically 
the same purpose, almost every railroad has some 
system that cannot or is not used by others. Thus 
the styles and colors of the lenses alone are very 
numerous and complicate what otherwise would 
be a comparatively simple operation. The main 
office is located in the factory building but it 
has been found necessary to establish another 
office in the business part of the city and branches 
in Chicago and Atlanta. 

FREDERICK JOSEPH, president of the New 
York Butchers' Dressed Meat Company, was born 
January 31, 1851, at Reichelsheim, Darmstadt, 



180 SUCCESSFUL i il-.R MAX -AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



where he received his primary education in the 
local schools. Later. Mr. Joseph took a three 
years' course "t" study in the Boys' Seminary at 
Pfungstadt und Michelstadt. At the age of four- 
teen lie went to Frankfurt, where lie remained 
for one year, after which he returned t<> hi- na- 
tive place ami engaged in business pursuits with 
hi- father, a gentleman who was widely and 
favorably known in that section of Germany as 
one of the largest owner- and buyers of cattle, 
and with whom he remained until he was sev- 
enteen y< E age. It was under the careful 
business tuition of the elder Joreph (the father 
of the subject of this -ketch) that he obtained 
valuable knowledge of manj of the details which 
ractically fitted him in his subsequent career 
after coming to America which occurred in 1869. 
When he arrived he had hut limited capital. 
After remaining a few months in New York 
City he went West, locating at Chicago, 111., 
where he obtained a position a- bookkeeper and 
manager in a brewery of that city, and where 
he only remained for a period of one year (1870- 
1N71 1. In the latter named year he went to At- 
tica. Ind.. where he remained intermittently until 
:--- During the greater portion of the time 
between [87] and [878, however, Mr. Joseph 
in travel throughout the Far West section 
of the United States, and along the great cattle 
ranges where he obtained practical details of 
the cattle and live stock business, adding it to 
his already great storehouse of knowledge. Dur- 
ing this period he marie Chicago hi- headqu; 
hut tran-acted the greater portion of hi- busi- 
111 New York City. In the early part of 
[878 Mr. Joseph located permanently at Yew 
York City, residing in East Fifty first Street. On 
February twenty-fourth of that year, when at the 
of twenty-seven, he married Mi-- Fannie 
Schwarzchild, daughter of the late Joseph 
Schwarzchild, Esq., who was the founder of the 
great packing house of that name, ami of which 
- the head up to the time of hi- retirement 
,11 t8£ thai time Mr. Joseph assumed the 
active duties of Mr. Schwarzchild, which con 
tinned until the winter of [907, at which time he 
resigned, he having filled the pcition of vice 

president of the company from the lime ol its 

incorporation up to the above year, ["hi close 
family and business relations from this source 
also enabled Mr Joseph to -till further in 
hi- knowledge of the dressed beef and pr< 
business, which, coupled with his own pi 
idea-, i- in a great measure responsible for the 
splendid -nee.-'- he ha- made of hi- commercial 
life. For twenty-nine years Mi. Joseph, repre 

ng hi- large interests in the Schwarzchild 



and Sulzberger Company, distinguished himself 
a- the practical man of the concern. His great 
business sagacity and foresight were splendid 
assets which enabled the house to extend its op- 
eration- and multiply its output. Hi- name 
then, a- to-day, -laud- a synonym of all that is 
authoritative in the packing industry of this 
country and Europe. On May 1. 1907, Mr. Joseph 
was elected president of the .Yew York Butchers' 
Dressed Meat Company. Since hi- election to 
the presidency of the company, it- output and 
-ale- have tripled. Judging from the past career 
of its president, coupled with his great executive 
ability, it i- safe to assert that within a period 
of a few years, tin- concern will he one of the 
most extensive of its kind in this country. Mr. 
and Mrs. Joseph have five children living, viz.: 
Moses Henry, Leo, Hugo, Adele, now Mr-. Leon- 
ard B. Shoenfeld of Yew York City, and Beat- 
rice. Mr-. Joseph's father, the late Joseph 
Schwarzchild. Esq., was active in the German 
Revolution of 1848 and wa- a warm friend of 
the late Carl Sclmrz. Mr. Joseph is not a club 
man hut is one of the splendid characters which 
a do r In une life moulds. He is fond of travel 
and for the past thirty years has made an an- 
nual tour of Europe. During his long associ- 
ation in the commercial world he has made many 
friends whose numbers are legion. His stand- 
ing for probity and integrity i- a fact where- 
ever he i- known. He ha- always been a man of 
large charities — giving without any ostentation. 

HERMANN WISCI I.MAY \\— A prominent 

member of that class of energetic men who are 
engaged in mercantile life in thi- city and who 
constitute such an important factor in Brooklyn's 
commercial importance, is Mr. Hermann Wisch- 
mann. Like many other- who have built up large 
business interests here. Mr. Wischmann is an 
adopted citizen of this country, having been 
born August [8, 1831, in the Kingdom of Han 
over, now a pan of Prussia. His father was a 

farmer, living near the Baltic sea coast, who gave 

his son the educational advantages which were 
afforded by the village school as conducted un- 
der the well known and thorough German sys 
tern. The lad lived quietly at home until he was 
teen years of age, never having traveled far 
or seen a city. Two brothers had preceded him 
to America and their letters awoke in him the 
desire to have the quiet farm life, to see some- 
thing of the world and to try hi- fortune- in the 
United State: He accordingly took passag 
America, arriving in Yew York, as so many oth- 
er- have dou,\ poor in pur-e, but rich in hope, 

ambition and energy. His stay in the cil 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 183 



tended over three years, during which time he 
was employed as clerk in the grocery business. 
Then came an opportunity to invest in an under- 
taking which promised well, and he put his sav- 
ings in the New York Submarine Wrecking 
Company, an organization which was formed for 
the purpose of raising sunken vessels. The 
company did not succeed and recovered neither 
sunken vessels nor sunken capital, so Mr. Wisch- 
mann lost his all and was forced to begin again 
at the bottom of the ladder. Notwithstanding 
the ebb of his fortune, he took unto himself a 
wife, whose acquaintance he had made in South 
Brooklyn while duck hunting in the bay. Casting 
about for something to do, he remarked upon 
the crowds of people daily parsing over Fulton 
Ferry and reached the conclusion that a dining 
saloon on the Brooklyn side, near the ferry, 
would be remunerative. He, therefore, opened 
such an establishment at No. 25 Fulton Street, 
beginning in an humble way, but gradually en- 
larging his accommodations as he was able. At 
the end of six years he had accumulated some 
capital, and what was better, hand won the con 
fidence and esteem of all who knew him. An 
advantageous offer was made him, at this time, 
to go into the coffee trade as clerk in Waring's 
house, where he remained four years, giving such 
satisfaction that a share in the business as part- 
ner was offered him, of which offer he availed 
himself. The firm relations existed for ten 
years, when he decided to start in business for 
himself, having acquired the necessary experience 
and some capital. He bought and rebuilt the 
stand at No. 78 Fulton Street with Mr. Ho- 
horst as his partner, who only remained for only 
a year, however. By close attention to his busi- 
ness and good management, Mr. Wischmann was 
able to increase his operations year by year, add- 
ing to his place of business, putting in a steam 
engine and requisite machinery, until the small 
store of a few years since has become a large 
wholesale establishment dealing in coffees, teas 
and spices, employing a number of men and 
horses and turning out many thousands of dol- 
lars' worth of manufactured products annually. 
Early in his business life he adopted the motto 
"Pay as you go," which has proved as advan- 
tageous in his case as it universally does. No 
man achieves success in mercantile life by acci- 
dent or accumulates property without faithful, 
persistent labor. The winner, while many are 
losers, must combine industry, enterprise and in- 
telligence with business tact ; at the same time 
he must be known to men to be honest and re- 
liable in his dealings. These qualities distin- 
guish Mr. Wischmann and have brought him not 



only wealth but also the esteem of men for his 
integrity and manhood. His interest in the affairs 
of the city leads him to favor those measures 
that would tend to the public good and to oppose 
strongly all forms of dishonesty in municipal 
matters, though he takes no part in politics be- 
yond voting, and that the Republican ticket gen- 
erally. He is fond of reading and is well posted 
on the current events of the day. Affable in man- 
ner, his courtesy is genuine, springing from a 
kind heart that does much in charity towards re- 
lieving the misfortunes of others. His church 
connections are with the German Lutheran 
Church in Henry Street, Brooklyn, of which or- 
ganization he has been treasurer for many years. 
Always fond of society, he has been a member 
of several social organizations and a military 
company; he is also a member of Joppa Lodge 
of Free Masons, is vice-president of the Borough 
Bank of Brooklyn and a director of the Kings 
County Bank. His time is still mostly devoted 
to his large business interests, which he over- 
sees for himself, although receiving the assist- 
ance of a young partner in carrying out the de- 
tails. Mr. Wischmann is to be congratulated 
upon having won by his own exertions a suc- 
cessful career and a good name, both among busi- 
ness men and in society at large. 

JOHN GODFREY STEENKEN was born at 
Bremen, Germany, on February 14, 1839, and 
received his education in the schools of his native 
city, graduating from the high school in 1854 at 
the age of fifteen. Soon after leaving school he 
emigrated to America and found employment as 
errand boy with an exporting house. Here he 
stayed for two years but left as soon as he had 
become sufficiently familiar with American condi- 
tions to see his way for advancement. In 1858 
he joined the firm of Battelle & Renwick, man- 
ufacturers of chemicals, at 163 Front Street, New 
York City, and rapidly worked his way up. The 
splendid education he had received, the ambition 
which filled the heart of the young man and his 
unswerving attention to duty brought him quickly 
to the front. He was admitted to partnership in 
1887 and when, in 1902, the firm which had been 
founded in 1840 was incorporated, Mr. Steenken 
was elected a director and president of the com- 
pany. In the meantime he had become inter- 
ested in numerous other enterprises and is now 
president and director of the National Sulphur 
Co. of New York, a director of the New York 
Tanning Co. and the Argentine Quebrecks Co. ; 
president and director of the Croton Chemical 
Co. of New York; trustee of the Germania Sav- 
ings Bank of Brooklyn ; member of the Chamber 



184 SUCCESSFUL GERM AX-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



of Commerce, New York, and the Down Town 
Association. He has been a resident of Brooklyn 
since 1866 and for twenty-five year- was 
urer of St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church 
..11 Washington Avenue in that borough. On De- 
cember 13, 1866. Mr. Steenken was married to 
Miss A M. Bischoff of Charleston, S.C., who 
died in October, 1891, and left him seven children, 
viz.: five sons and two daughters: Albert Daniel, 
John Godfrey, Jr., Edgar Herman, George Will- 
iam, Elsie, Anna, Martha and Francis Lewi-. 
Edgar Herman is secretary of the Croton 
Chemical Co.; George William assistant secre- 
tary of Battelle & Renwick. His daughter, Elsie, 
i- married to Christian E. Grandeman of Brook- 
lyn and the youngest son, Francis Lewis, a stu- 
dent at Harvard College since 1905. John God- 
frey. Jr., died in 1805 in his twenty-fifth year. As 
one of the substantial business men of New York, 
whose rise has been as rapid as well deserved, 
and as a public spirited citizen, Mr. Steenken has 
brought honor and credit upon his Fatherland 
as well as the country he adopted when he came 
to America, and he may be classed among the best 
exponents of the valuable qualities which Ger- 
man immigration has contributed to the people 
that have grown up on the new continent. 

ROBERT VOM CLEFF, deceased, founder of 

the house of vom Cleff & Company, was born at 
Cronenberg, near Solingen, Germany, January 
29, 1847. He came to America in 1867 and for 
ars was employed in the New York 
German Consulate. In 1873 he founded the busi- 

of which he has always been the head, it 
being incorporated under the present style in 
1902, he becoming it- president. The business of 
the house has always been the manufacture and 
importation of general hardware, such as pliers, 
nipper-, surgical instruments, jeweler-' tools, pocket 

ry and kindred lines, drawn principally from 
Germany and France. Mr. vom Cleff was edu- 
at the public schools of Cronenberg, gradu- 
ating therefrom at the age of fourteen years He 

was an apprentice in the cutlery trade Up to the 

venteen year-. After arriving in the 
United Stat ttled at Hoboken, N.J., where 

be remained until 1869, at which time he re 
moved to Jersey City Heights. In [873 he en- 
I in business on hi- own account at X... [05 
Duane Street, New Y'.rk City. In politics Mr. 
vom Cleff was a Republican. At one time be was 
I a mem!., r 1 rd of Education in 

v, but nil are. .unt of illl iiiahle 

cepl tlie office. He wa- «. He- of the found- 
' -man American School of I 
1 lie wa- a member of the German I. nth 



eran Church, the German Club of Hoboken, the 
Hardware Club, New Y<>rk City; the Arion Sing- 
ing Societies of both New York and Jersey City; 
he was for many years district deputy in the Ma- 
sonic fraternity and later a member of the Grand 
Lodge of Xew Jersey. An association that was 
dear to him was his connection with the German- 
American School of Jersey City, he having served 
as president of the board of trustees for many 
years. He was also a member of the Deutsche 
Gesellschaft, a noted German organization of 
Xew York City. On April 13, 1871, he married 
Mi-- Celine W. Oppitz, daughter of William Op- 
pitz of Jersey City, who was a native of Bo- 
hemia, but who came to America in 1848. Three 
children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. vom 
Cleff, viz.: Celine, who married Dr. Louis H. A. 
Schneider of Xew York City; Robert and Clara 
B. The death of Mr. vom Cleff occurred on 
Friday, September 13, 1907, at Watkins, X.Y. He 
was buried from his home in Jersey City on the 
eighteenth of the same month, mourned by a 
large circle of friends and relative-. Mr. vom 
Cleff was a big-hearted, whole-souled gentleman, 
a generous and most considerate employer. He 
wa- a man of high character, capable, thoroughly 
honest and of unquestioned integrity. He is sur- 
vived by a widow, two daughters and a son. The 
affairs of the house he founded are still being 
carried on a- usual. 

ADOLPH LAXKERIXG, manufacturer, was 
born at Verden, Germany, on January 9. 1851, 
and received his education in the public schools 
of bis native city. After serving in various mu- 
nicipal and government office- lie entered the 
Prussian army at the age of eighteen. During 
the Franco-Prussian war he wa- assistant in 
the commissary department and later on placed 
in charge of a responsible position in the army 
mail service. At the end of his term of enlist- 
ment he was honorably discharged with especial 
mition of his services, and with a diploma 
which entitled him to the appointment as pay- 
master. He preferred, however, to return to 
civil life and secured employment as assistant 
controller with th< Rhenish Railway Company at 

tie and later on as private secretary and 

head bookkeeper with one of the largest banking 

institutions of that city. In 1S75 be decided to 
visit Chicago, where his married sisters lived, 

and after a stay of several months, made up his 
mind t<> remain in America, inviting his brothers, 
George and Fred, t.. join him. Later he en- 
ter, d the firm <>f Sandhagen & >'•.. tobacco deal- 
er-, as partner. Frequenl trips t" the East in 
the interest of bis business induced him to sever 




LOUIS F. HAFFEN. 



185 




I. HEINTZ. 



1S() 




JOHN P. WINDOLPH. 



187 




BERNARD FERDINAND DRAKI NFELD. 



L88 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 189 



his connection with the Chicago firm and he es- 
tablished himself with his brothers at Hoboken 
in the cigar manufacturing and jobbing business. 
Mr. Lankering has been extremely successful in 
his undertakings, owing to his wide experience, 
his hard work and sound business sense, and his 
sterling integrity. His many good qualities were 
promptly recognized and his popularity grew all 
the more rapid as he showed warm and intelli- 
gent interest in public affairs. A Democrat in 
politics, he was appointed police commissioner 
in 1900 and elected mayor of the city of Hoboken 
in 1902. The same traits that had brought him 
success in his business were instrumental in 
making his administration so satisfactory to the 
citizens of Hoboken that at the end of his term 
he was reelected with an increased majority. Mr. 
Lankering is very active in social affairs. He is 
a member of almost all the singing societies of 
Hudson County, the German Club of Hoboken 
and many other social organizations. He has re- 
peatedly served as president of the Hoboken 
Quartet Club and as master of Hudson Lodge, 
F. & A.M., now holding office in the Grand Lodge. 
The Alliance of German Societies of Hudson 
County made him their president since 1906. 
In this capacity he has rendered excellent ser- 
vice in defense of personal liberty and in the agi- 
tation against intolerance and fanaticism. The 
defeat of proposed legislation to establish local 
option and final prohibition of the sale of intox- 
icating beverages in the state of New Jersey is 
greatly due to his activity in organizing the Ger- 
man element throughout the state and in arousing 
general sentiment against such laws. In 1883 
Mr. Lankering married Miss Louise Tistedt, the 
daughter of one of the earliest and best known 
settlers of Milwaukee. They have one son. 

BERNARD FERDINAND DRAKENFELD 

was born June 27, 1849, at Erlangen in Bavaria 
and received his education at the gymnasium and 
university of his native city. In 1869, when nine- 
teen years of age, he came to America and set- 
tled in Los Angeles, where he rose rapidly in the 
business with which he associated himself. Al- 
though his future on the Coast was assured, he ac- 
cepted the invitation of his brother, Mr. Edward 
Drakenfeld, who had in 1869 established himself 
with Mr. John Marsching, under the firm name of 
J. Marsching & Co., in the business of importing 
mineral colors and bronze powders in New York, 
to enter the house with the view of learning the 
business and purchasing his brother's interest, 
which plan was duly consummated in 1886. In 
1893 he bought out the interest of Mr. J. Mar- 
sching. The business, now known as B. F. Dra- 



kenfeld & Co., has been located at 27 Park Place, 
New York, for over thirty years, and has 
branches in Chicago and East Liverpool, Ohio. It 
gives employment to over one hundred hands and 
is the largest and best equipped in its lines in the 
United States, in fact it is the largest mineral 
color house in the world. Mr. Drakenfeld is a 
member of the German Liederkranz, the Arion, 
the Technological Society, Museum of Natural 
History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Ger- 
man Lutheran Church, also a number of charita- 
ble and benevolent societies and is a Mason and 
an Elk. He married, on November 10, 1875, Miss 
Elizabeth E. Bettis of California and has two 
children, Bernard Ferdinand, Jr., who is associ- 
ated with him in business, and a daughter, the 
wife of Mr. E. O. Beyer of Neuss, Hesslein & 
Co., New York. 

HENRY ENDEMANN, importer, was born at 
Dortmund in Westphalia on February 10, 1865. 
He received his education in the public schools 
and the gymnasium at Dortmund and came to 
America in 1884, when nineteen years old. He 
succeeded in finding employment in Philadelphia 
at five dollars per week, but came to New York 
three years later and engaged as a clerk with 
the firm of F. W. Biining & Co., china and glass 
importers, becoming a partner after a few years. 
When Mr. Biining retired in 1894 the present 
firm of Endemann & Churchill was established. 
He has been very successful and while his start 
in this country was not made under very aus- 
picious circumstances, the severe training he re- 
ceived gave him the experience which, when com- 
bined with intelligence of a high order, unfailing 
energy and strict integrity, always brings ulti- 
mate success. His business standing naturally 
led to an extension of his activities and inter- 
ests, and he is a director of the Aetna National 
Bank and of the Consumers' Brewing Co. of 
Brooklyn at Woodside. An independent Demo- 
crat in politics, who, like so many Germans, will 
not hesitate to vote against his party when he 
conceives such action to be necessary for the good 
of the whole country. Mr. Endemann is also a 
member of the Arion, the German Liederkranz, 
the New York Athletic Club and the German So- 
ciety. He was married on November 29, 1892, 
to Miss Louise Lindenmeyr, daughter of the late 
John Lindenmeyr, the founder of the well known 
paper-house, Henry Lindenmeyr & Sons, and has 
one son, Henry William. 

HERMANN HEINRICH HORNFECK, man- 
ufacturer, was born at Gera in Thuringia on 
February 5, 1839. He attended the public school 



190 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



of his native city and at the age of fourteen was 
apprenticed to a furrier. He learned the busine S 
thoroughly, as was the custom in those days, and 

when he decided to leave for wider fields he knew 

more about his trade than many a manufacturer 

of the present time knows after many years. 
vend years he traveled in Germany, work- 
ing at his trade here and there, and always in 
creasing his stock of knowledge. When he had 
reached his majority bis mind was made up that 
he would ^ek a field where natural ability, am- 
bition and intense desire to rise quickly were not 
hampered by narrow and antiquated restrictions, 
and where the man was judged alone by what he 
accomplished. He set sail for America and ar- 
rived here in i860. For a man of his stamp it 
was not difficult to secure employment, but this 
did not satisfy him. Slowly he fell his way and 
husbanded his resources mud he was able to es- 
tablish himself in business on his own account. 
The sequel proved that the confidence in his abil 
ity was well founded, for he prospered from the 
start and the rapid increase of hi- business made 
it imperative to enlarge the facilities steadily until 
tiled at his present place at 35 Wesl Thirty- 
first Street. A lover of nature, he moved his 
nee to Verona, in the Orange Mountains, in 
has lived ever since. A Republi- 
can of independent mind, he never engaged ac- 
tively in politics and did not care for public office 
although his standing in the community had be- 
come such that he could have secured it easily. 
••.hen he had to send his eighl children to 
school, the inborn desire of the German to secure 
1 education for his family induced him to 
pj the position of school trustee al his place 
of residence and he served in this capacity for ten 
years, winning the deserved approval of the resi 
dents of Verona for his devotion to duty and 
the intelligence which marked his official 
Mr. Horn feck was married on February 5, t866, 
to Miss Anna Kathrine Cimiotti, a native of Vi- 
enna, and has four sons and four daughters, one 
of whom is married to W. M LoftUS, 5Uperinten- 
rk O.N.T. thread works. Arriving 
in this country with empty hands, he has sue 
1 beyond his own expectations and furnishes 
a splendid illustration of what the German may 
achieve in Free America if endowed with nal 
ural gifts and a noble character. Mr. Hornfeck 
i~ a member of th( Arion Society. 

FERDINAND SULZBERGER, president of 

the Schwarzchild and Sulzberger Company, was 
born in the Grand Duchy of Baden sixty-five 

year- go In [863, while a young man, Mr. 
Sulzberger came to America. locating in N<w 



York City, where he has resided ever since. His 
family consists of eight boys and four girls, four 
of the s, ,ns being now actively engaged in busi- 
ness of the corporation of Schwarzchild and 
Sulzberger Company. Mr. Sulzberger has always 
been a liberal contributor to numerous religious 
and charitable organizations. He has never taken 
any active interest in politics. The corporation 
of Schwarzchild ami Sulzberger Company, of 
which Mr. Sulzberger is the head, saw its begin- 
ning in 1853. < >n the date above mentioned, the 
slaughtering of fifty cattle weekly was consid 
ered a large business and compared to the pres 
ent output of about fifteen thousand cattle per 
week, together with the handling of thousands of 
sheep, lambs and hogs, -hows the progress and 
growth of the company. Schwarzchild & Sulz- 
berger Company, more familiarly known as the 
"S. & S. Co.," may be truly classed as one of 
the pioneers in the handling of refrigerated 
dressed beef, and is now conceded to be one of 
the packing powers of the world, which is due 
in a great measure to the high standard of its 
goods and strict bu iness principles. During the 
early history the business was carried on as a 
firm, of which the partners were Mr. Joseph 
Schwarzchild and Mr. Ferdinand Sulzberger, the 
latter being president of the present corporation. 
It early demonstrated itself to the firm that in 
connection with the slaughtering of cattle, the 
succcs- of an abattoir business depended largely 
on the most advantageous handling and utiliz- 
ing of by-products which had been given little 
and careless attention by the old-time slaughter- 
ers, particularly the fats. The adoption of new ma- 
chinery and ideas backed by the energy and ex- 
perience of the firm resulted in placing on the 
market the famous "Harrison Brand" of oleo 
oil, which soon found favor on the domestic 
and European markets, and today i- conceded 
the leading brand, with a world famed demand 
and reputation. In [888, on account of increased 
European business, Mr. Sulzberger went abroad 
for the general promoting of their foreign inter- 
ests. In [892 the rapid increasi of domestic 
and export business having outgrown the ca 
pacify of the New York plant, the linn saw the 

advantages of an additional plant in the West and 

negotiated the purchase of a corporation, at that 

time known as the Phoenix Tacking Company, 
having a plant located at Kansas City, Mo., with 
a few distributing branches in the East, and a re- 
altor car line, known as the ('old Blast 

Transportation Company. Enlargements of the 

plant to several times its original capacity, with 
added modern machinery and facilities, inuncdi 

followed After purchasing the western 




ALBERT PRANK 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 193 



interests, the New York plant gradually increased 
the output of Kosher killed cattle for the sup- 
ply of Greater New York, as an equivalent for 
volume transferred to Kansas City for export 
and general branch distribution. On May 10, 
1893, there was filed with the secretary of state 
in Albany, N.Y., a charter of incorporation known 
as the Schwarzchild & Sulzberger Company, 
which is the corporation of to-day. Branch 
houses were rapidly established throughout the 
country and the export business was materially 
increased. The "S. & S. Co.'s" success and 
growth again demonstrated the further enlarge- 
ment of plant requirements, and in 1900 it was 
decided to build the famous Chicago plant, con- 
ceded to be the finest in the world, which, with 
that at Kansas City, gave the company the ad- 
vantage of being located on two of the leading 
cattle markets of the country, Kansas City and 
Chicago. With modern plants, an increased re- 
frigerator car line, and a complete equipment of 
live stock cars for transporting its cattle to New 
York, it put the company in an advantageous po- 
sition to compete for the general business of this 
country and Europe second to none. The present 
officers of the company are Ferdinand Sulzber- 
ger, president; M. J. Sulzberger, first vice-presi- 
dent and treasurer ; J. N. Sulzberger, second vice- 
president and secretary ; G. F. Sulzberger, third 
vice-president. 

GEORGE GILLIG was born at Zeuln, on the 
river Main, Oberfranken, Bavaria, on October 
9, 1809. At the age of twenty he became a jour- 
neyman brewer and for seven years and until 
1836 worked as such in different cities in Ger- 
many. In the fall of that year he entered the 
Bavarian Army and, serving three years, was hon- 
orably discharged. Shortly thereafter he came to 
America, located in New York City and in 1840 
established himself in business in a brewery oc- 
cupying the present site of the Vanderbilt man- 
sion on Fifth Avenue, between Fifty nd Fifty- 
first Streets. Subsequently he built and operated 
a brewery at Thirtieth Street and Lexington Av- 
enue and later on, in 1843, one in Third Street 
between Avenues A and B. During the following 
year and in the last mentioned plant he enjoyed 
the distinction of being the first one to brew 
lager beer, as we know it to-day, in New York 
City, the product of all the brewers prior to 
that time being what was known as "small beer." 
Mr. Gillig was at this time also the owner of 
breweries at Staten Island and Williamsburg. He 
sold the former to a Mr. Bischoff and the latter 
to a Mr. Hamm. In 1853 he sold the Third 
Street brewery to Mr. Joseph Doelger and took 



possession of a newly erected one between Forty- 
fifth and Forty-sixth Streets, and First and Sec- 
ond Avenues. This he conducted until his death 
in 1862. His estate continued the business for 
some years and then leased it to the firm of 
Gillig & Oppermann, composed of Mr. Gillig's 
son, John George, and Frederick Oppermann, Jr. 
Mr. Gillig was married in 1841, and at his death 
left him surviving four children, one son and 
three daughters : John George, above mentioned, 
and who is widely known through his connec- 
tion with the business of his brother-in-law, Ja- 
cob Ruppert, the well-known brewer of New 
York City; Anna, the wife of said Ruppert; Cor- 
nelia K., widow of Dr. B. A. Mylius, and now 
residing in Berlin, Germany, and Amanda B., the 
wife of John A. Douglas. 

JOHN GEORGE GILLIG was born at New 
York City on January 8, 1852, the son of Ger- 
man parents who lived at that time in Third 
Street, between Avenues A and B. He received 
his early education in the public schools of New 
York and in Fordham College and was sent to 
Bamberg, Germany, to complete his course of 
study. After graduating, he entered the em- 
ploy of a produce merchant at Bamberg and re- 
mained with him for one year. At the age of 
eighteen Mr. Gillig returned to New York and 
accepted the position as assistant receiving teller 
with the Germania Bank, resigning it in order 
to take a position with his brother-in-law, Mr. 
Jacob Ruppert, the well known brewer. Here he 
stayed for one year, and in the latter part of 
1872 joined the firm of Gillig & Oppermann, brew- 
ers. In 1877 he decided to sell his interest in 
the brewery and returned to Mr. Ruppert as fi- 
nancial and general manager, in which capacity 
he is still active. Mr. Gillig is widely and fav- 
orably known not only in the brewing industry 
but also far beyond its limits as an active and 
energetic man of business with a reputation for 
far-sightedness and strict integrity, endowed with 
qualities of head and heart which have se- 
cured him a large host of friends and admirers. 
A Democrat in politics, he has never sought nor 
held public office, but confined his activity in this 
direction to the prompt and conscientious dis- 
charge of his dutes as a citizen. He is a member 
of the Arion Society, the Terrace Bowling Club, 
which he helped to organize in 1870 and of which 
he is treasurer since 1877; the New York Pro- 
duce Exchange, Red Bank Yacht Club, and of a 
great number of other social, benevolent and 
charitable associations, as well as a Mason, be- 
ing a member of Trinity Lodge No. 12 F. & A. 
M. On January 28, 1874, Mr. Gillig was married 



194 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



to Miss Catherine E. Oppermann and has four 
children: George J.. Anna M . Mrs. Jacob S 
and Mrs. John F. Betz, 3d, of Philadelphia. 

ADOLPH C HOTTENROTH, lawyer, was 
born -'ii M 9, in the city of New York as 

the son of German parents. Receiving his first 
education in the public schools of what was then 
known as the annexed district and now as the 
Bronx, he was graduated from the College of 
the City of New York with the class of '88 and 
from the Law School of the University of the 
City of New York with the class of '90. Simul- 
taneously with starting in the practise of his pro- 
n, Mr. Hottenroth took an exceptionally 
active interest in public affairs. It may indeed be 
said that hardly another private citizen has bat- 
tled with equal fervor and persistence for the 

welfare of the people and especially the section 
in which he grew up and now makes his home, 

Bronx. Elected a member of the constitu- 
tional convention in [894 by the citizens of New 
York, Putnam and Westchester Counties, he led 
the debate Oil the canal improvement, framed the 
minority report and secured the adoption of the 
constitutional amendment which received the larg 
est number of vote- of any, and made possible 
the improvement of the canals now under way. 
With equal determination and success he fought 
for the protection of Niagara against the threat- 
ening destruction. From 1898 to 1892 he served 
a- member of the City Council, having been 
! by the people of the Bronx by a substan- 
tial majority. Since 1004 he ha- been president of 
the Taxpayers' Alliance of the Bronx, the rep 

tatives of over thirty property owner-' asso 
ciations having chosen him for this important 

• m. He has been indefatigable in working 
for needed improvements, a- increased rapid 
tran-it facilities for the Bronx, the live cent fare 
hill and many other important matters. I fe ins'ti 
luted and conducted to a successful conclusion 
against the mosl strenuous opposition the liti 
gation which compelled the Manhattan Elevated 
Railway Company to give continuous service to 

and through the Bronx for a five cenl fare. Hi- 
notable one, being achieved singly 
against a formidable arraj of the mosl able conn 
-el backed up with the immense wealth of that 
ration. The result of its enforcement was 
to usher in an era of growth and prosperity in 
the Bronx, the like of which was never witi 
in any other community. Mr. Hottenroth has an 
immense circle of friends and is a member ol 
many clubs, among them the Arion Society, the 
Bar ''. iciations of the State of New York and 

the Bronx, the Automobile Club of America and 



the Auto Club of the Bronx, the American Acad 
emy of Political and Social Science. Bedford Park 
Property Association, Beethoven Maennerchor, 
City College \lmi:m Association, Fordham Club, 
Jefferson Club, Lawyers' Site Purchasing Com- 
pany. Melrose Turn Yercin, National Geograph- 
ical Society, National Democratic Club, North 
End Democratic Club, New York University 

Alumni Association, Schnorer Club, Tallaj sa 

Club, Taxpayers' Alliance. Twenty-third Ward 
Property Owners' Association, Tammany Soci- 
ety, West Morrisania Club, Kingston Club and 
is a Mason of Strict Observance Lodge. Mr. 
Hottenroth is a director in a large number of cor 
porations, including the United States Award 
ami Assessment Company, Map and Abstract 
Company, Sandrock Realty Company and others, 
lie was married on April 28, 1900, to Mis- Ma- 
mie A. Schmidt and has four children, two sons 
and two daughters. 

HERMAN JOSEPH, jurist, was born in New 
York City September 10, 1858. He received his 
education in the public schools of the city, at- 
tending the old Allen Street School No, 42 and 
graduating at an early age. Later he finished his 
education at New York University, graduating 
from that institution in 1878. After leaving school 
he entered the law office of Abraham Hershfield 
and during this time he devoted himself so closely 
to the study of law and showed such aptitude for 
his chosen profession that he acquired not only 
a wide knowledge but also a deep insight unusual 
for one of his years. After being admitted to the 
Bar in [878 immediately opened offices of his 
own at No. _><),} Broadway and engaged in gen 1 
practise. His success was assured from the start 
and his ability, as well as his profound learning, 
were recognized by an ever-widening circle. The 
growth of his clientele compelled him to engage 
larger offices at 287 Broadway and he began to 
take a deep interest in politics and educational 
affairs. When, in 1898, Judge McKeon re 1 
his position as justice of the Municipal Court, 
Mayor Von Wyck appointed Mr. Joseph to till 
the vacancy. In November of the same year he 
was elected for the remaining two years of the 
term and reelected for the full term of ten years 

in 1900. On the Bench Judge Joseph has earned 
a reputation for the dignity with which he pre- 
in .1 courl that has not always had the for 

tune to be conducted by men of his ability. He 

has decided man) (|iiesii,, n ^ of far-reaching im 
portance and the rapidity and penetration with 
which he di-po es of cases, the never failing fair 
■o both parties, the correct interpretation of 
the law ami the reputation he has acquired for 




JOHN GODFREY STEENKEN. 



195 



/ 







*^ 




, H mm l - ENGELHARD. 



1% 




FERDINAND SULZBERGER. 



197 




Al'dl.ril LANKERING. 



198 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 199 



the clearness and precision of his decisions are 
but the natural outcome of deep study combined 
with superior intelligence and sterling character. 
His success has been rapid but it may safely be 
said that it has surprised none of his friends who 
knew the qualities of the man, and that his friends 
by no means believe that he has arrived at the 
end of his career, fitted as he is for splendid 
work in a much larger sphere of action. His keen 
interest in educational affairs was shown at a 
remarkably early age. After finishing his common 
school education he edited a journal that dealt 
with evening school matters, and in this his 
ability asserted itself. He advocated many im- 
provements in the public school system and in 
1873 (age fourteen years) he read an essay, pre- 
pared by himself, at Steinway Hall under the aus- 
pices of the late J. F. Wright, who was princi- 
pal of Christie Street School, advocating the in- 
struction of modern languages in the New York 
public schools. Judge Joseph is fond of litera- 
ture and arts and visits Europe every year to 
find the relaxation he needs after his strenuous 
work. He is a member of the Arion, Progress 
Club, Montefiore Home, Mt. Sinai Hospital, of 
the board of governors of the Democratic Club, 
Tammany Hall and the regular Democratic Gen- 
eral Committee, the Elks, Eagles, a Mason and 
belongs to a large number of other social and 
charitable organizations. In politics he is a 
Democrat. Judge Joseph was married in 1881 to 
Miss Sarah Kurzman and has one daughter, Rose. 

HERMAN L. TIMKEN (deceased), a former 
mayor of Hoboken, N.J., was born at Lilienthal, 
Hanover, Germany, April 2, 1830. His father 
served with distinction as a soldier in the English 
Army under Wellington, also in the German Ar- 
my under Bliicher and was roadmaster of his 
district. After a service himself of seven years 
in the Hanovarian Army, Mr. Timken was pro- 
moted to the rank of sergeant. After severing 
his connections with his regiment in 1857, he came 
to the United States, settling at New York City, 
where he secured a position working at his trade, 
that of a wood carver and turner. Later he aban- 
doned this class of work, engaging in the flour 
business on his own account. Two years after 
his arrival in this country, in 1859, he married 
Miss Betty Kotzenberg of Hoboken, N.J., and 
during the same year became a resident of that 
city. A short time thereafter Mr. Timken be- 
gan laying the foundation of what grew to be an 
extensive flour and feed business by establishing 
the firm of Krone and Timken in New York City. 
Two years later, after an honorable career, the 
firm was dissolved, Mr. Timken continuing with 



Mr. S. M. Rohdenburg, trading under the firm 
name of Timken & Rohdenburg. In 1870 Mr. 
Timken purchased the interest of his partner in 
the business and continued alone until 1876, at 
which time he began a copartnership with Mr. H. 
Jacobsen, conducting the business on a more ex- 
tensive scale both in New York City and Hobo- 
ken, N.J. Four years later — in 1880 — another dis- 
solution occurred, Mr. Timken succeeding to firm 
business in New York, and Mr. Jacobsen to 
that in Hoboken. In 1885 Mr. Timken removed 
his business to the latter city and in 1890 Mr. 
August Hanniball, a son-in-law, confidential clerk 
and adviser, became his partner; a year later he 
retired from active business, leaving his son, J. 
Henry Timken, and Mr. Hanniball to conduct the 
affairs under the firm name of Timken & Han- 
niball. Later Mr. Hanniball succeeded to the 
entire business which he now conducts and which, 
to-day, is the most extensive of its kind in Hudson 
County, N.J. Besides ably conducting these in- 
terests, Mr. Hanniball is the president of one of 
the largest wholesale bakery establishments in 
New York City. He is widely known as a gen- 
tleman of honorable reputation, as well as being 
possessed of large commercial acumen. During 
his lifetime, Mr. Timken was a man who took a 
deep interest in all public affairs connected with 
the city of his adoption. Not being a politician, 
as the term is largely understood in the present 
day, his motives were based upon a higher plane, 
always having uppermost in his mind everything 
that would in any way promote the interests of 
the people. He very properly became known far 
and wide as the "Reform Mayor" of Hoboken. 
His first publ'c office was that of councilman hav- 
ing been elected to that position from the Third 
Ward in 1869. He was reelected the following 
two years. After a temporary retirement on his 
part for several years, he removed to the Second 
Ward, and in 1880 was returned as a member 
of that district. In 1883 Mr. Timken was elected 
mayor of Hoboken, serving for three consecutive 
terms, each administration being able, dignified 
and honest. During his several administrations of 
the office he largely reduced the tax rate. He 
strongly favored the creation of the present paid 
fire department but was opposed in this effort. 
In 1891 he received the nomination for sheriff of 
Hudson County from the Jeffersonian Democracy 
but withdrew from the contest later. In the same 
year he was a member of the Board of Tax Com- 
missioners, it being the last political office he ever 
held. Mr. Timken was one of the organizers of 
Company D, first battalion of the old Second 
Regiment, in which he served as captain. He 
formerly served for some years as major of 



2u<) SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



the Fifth Regiment, N.G.S.N.Y. He was vice- 
president and one of the organizers of the Sec- 
National Hank of Hoboken; was the first 
president of the American District Telegraph 
Company of that city. In matters relating to the 
improvement of the city, Mr. Timken erected the 
first French type of flat houses in Hoboken at 
the corner of Sixth and River Streets. Myers 
Hotel, the finest in Hoboken, was also built by 
him and belongs to his son, J. H. Timken He 
was a member and past master of Hudson Lodge, 
I & A. M., the German and Hoboken Quartet 
clubs, a director of the United States Shbetzen 
Park Association and a member of the New York 
Produce Exchange. On July 22, 1892, Mr. Tim- 
ken's death occurred. He is survived by his wife 
and five children, viz.: J. II. Timken. II. L. Tim- 
ken. Alfred Timken. Bertha Hannibal! and \Y. II. 
A. Timken. The death of Mr. Timken removed 
from Hoboken one of her most honored citizens, 
a loving father and husband and a man of un- 
tarnished reputation. No man can leave a higher 
"r better heritage to those who come after. 

CHARLES F. SCHIRMER was born at Min- 
den, Westphalia, Germany, on March 19, 1834, 
and received his education in the puhlic schools 
of hi- native city. His father intended to let him 
study engineering, and he had already begun pre- 
paring himself for this profession when family 
reveres interfered and the hoy of fifteen was 
compelled to abandon the career originally laid 
out for him and to learn a trade. He selected the 
upholstering trade and finished his apprenticeship 
when eighteen vars old. While the instruction 
given to him had been very thorough, for at that 
time an apprentice was not permitted to follow 
his trade unless he had proven that he had mas- 
tered it. young Schirmer traveled fur over a year 
through Europi and learn more. Thus 

equipped, he came to America in 1853, settling 
at 1S1 Third Avenue, when- he established an up- 
holstery business. His confidence that the knowl- 
edge of his trade he had acquired by hard work 
and intelligent devotion to his duties would hring 
him success in the wider field that America of 
fered was not misplaced. Here, where no re 
strictions and antiquated laws stood in the way, 
and where the faculties of the ahle .and ambitious 
upholsterer could freely unfold them 
selves, h'' experienced a rapid and well '\<- erved 

Mr. Schirmer i- a Democrat-, hut has never 
taken an active pari in politics nor held public 
office. He belongs to tin- Lutheran Church and has 
been a member of the \xion Club since [878. He 
was married in 1857 to Miss Elizabeth Hilsdorf 

-many and has one -on. Charles J., Jr.. who 



served in the Twenty econd Regiment and man- 

i.usiness which now hears the name of 
Charles F. Schirmer & Son. 

HENRY A. C. ANDERSON, physician, son 
of a Danish father and a German mother, was 
horn in Hamburg, Germany, on August 2, 1841. 

He received his elementary education in the 
schools of his native city, hut his parents having 
died, he was sent, when hardly twelve years of 
age, to American relatives in Xew York City, 
who had him attend the old Greenwich Street 
School. Having no opportunity to speak or hear 
German spoken, he almost forgot the little Ger- 
man he knew when he arrived here. In 1857 he 
came to Yorkville at that time a village, and 
found employment as office hoy with the Third 
Avenue Railroad Company. Some years later 
he entered the present P.ellevue University to 
study medicine, hut his patriotism caused him to 
etdist as private in Company C, One Hundred and 
Twenty-seventh Regiment, X.Y.S. Volunteers, in 

August, 1862. After serving in the ranks for 
three months, the surgeon of the regiment had 
him detailed as his secretary. After the One 
Hundred and Twenty-seventh Regiment was or- 
dered to Folly Island^ just outside of Charles- 
ton Harbor, with part of the old Eleventh Army 
Corps, Anderson attracted the attention of the 
chief medical officer who induced him to accept 
the position of hospital steward of the depart- 
ment. While on leave to Xew York, his regi- 
menl was sent to Beaufort, S.C., and on his 
arrival there he was assigned to duty in the 
military hospital of that town. Young Anderson 
was perhaps 1 he first man who saw the Blue and 
die Gray shake hands. At the hospital were sev- 
eral wounded Confederate officers, prisoners of 
war. who had been sent there for treatment, and 
not one of them ever complained that he was 
treated less kindly than the Union patients. Among 
them was Colonel Montague of Charleston, who 

hobbled about on crutches, a trin- Southern gentle- 
man in the fullest sense. On a sunny afternoon 
a Union general, accompanied by a lady, called at 
the hospital and inquired if a Colonel Montague 
was a patient at the hospital and on receiving an 
affirmative reply, requested that the Colonel be 
called and he was asked to come to the office. He 
had hardly stepped in when the lady rushed at 
him and throwing her arms around his neck, with 
a kiss aid: "My darling brother." Then the 
two men, on,- m blue and the other in gray, shook 
hands— General Robert Anderson of fort Sum- 
ter fame and Colonel Montague of Charleston. 
Mrs Vnderson and Colonel Montague were sis- 
ter and brother Vfter the war Anderson re- 




EDWARD PAUL REICHHELM. 



201 




ANTON I WAl.ii. 



2<i2 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 203 



turned to the college and in due time received 
the degree of doctor in medicine. He built up 
a large practise in Yorkville, which secured for 
him not only a large income but also a well-de- 
served reputation. However, his professional ac- 
tivity, extensive as it was, did not suffice for 
his surplus energy and his almost restless tem- 
perament. He was a loyal and patriotic Amer- 
ican citizen, but he loved German speech and 
song, German literature and art and entered Ger- 
man circles to become more proficient. Soon 
after he recognized the fact that the Ameri- 
cans of German birth did not occupy the posi- 
tion to which their intelligence and honesty justly 
entitled them, especially in public life, he conse- 
quently devoted a large part of his time, energy 
and fortune to bring about better results. It 
may well be said that for the last twenty years 
Dr. Anderson was a leader in every movement in- 
augurated to increase the influence of our Ger- 
man-American citizens for liberal government 
and honesty in politics. He is now serving his 
twelfth term as president of the Central Turn 
Verein and is virtually the founder of the Uni- 
ted German Societies of the city of New York, 
of which he was unanimously elected president in 
1892. He served in this capacity for two terms 
and his reelection was prevented only by his re- 
fusal to sanction the changing of their consti- 
tution, which limited the term of service of the 
president to two terms. Independent in politics, 
he has unceasingly labored for the best interests 
of the public. He is at present honorary presi- 
dent of the United German Societies president 
of the Central Turn Verein, a member of the 
State, County and Greater New York Medical 
Societies, the Society of Medical Jurisprudence, 
the Manhattan Clinical and Manhattan Medical 
Societies, the Arion, Yorkville Maennerchor, As- 
chenbroedel and Pomuchelskopp Verein, the Vet- 
eran Legion of the Civil War and Bunting Lodge 
No. 655. He served six years as United States 
pension examiner under Cleveland and McKin- 
ley. On December 1, 1903, Mayor McClellan 
offered him the appointment of commissioner of 
Bronx parks, but he declined to accept the honor. 
Dr. Anderson was married in 1874 to Miss Nan- 
nie Lungershausen of Thueringen, Germany, and 
has four children, two boys and two girls. 

HERMANN JOHANNES BOLDT, physician, 
was born at Neuentempel, near Berlin, Ger- 
many, on June 24, 1856, and received his early 
education in Germany. He came to America with 
his parents when quite young and completed his 
education in this country, studying medicine and 
graduating with the degree of doctor of medi- 



cine from the University of New York in 1879. 
Since then he has been a practising physician in 
New York City, limiting his practise to gynae- 
cology, in which branch of his profession he has 
become widely known and is acknowledged as an 
authority. He is professor of gynaecology in 
the New York Post Graduate School of the Uni- 
versity of New York, attending gynaecological 
surgeon to several hospitals, and consulting gynae- 
cologist to others. Dr. Boldt was formerly chair- 
man of the section of obstetrics and diseases of 
women of the New York Academy of Medicine 
and president of the New York Obstetrical So- 
ciety and the German Medical Society. A man 
of wide learning, devoted to his profession, a 
diligent student and fond of good literature, Dr. 
Boldt is a member of a number of the leading 
national and international societies devoted to 
his special line of practise and of the German 
Liederkranz. On August 20, 1891, he married 
Miss Hedwig Krueger and has one son, Hermann 
Johannes, Jr. 

OTTO GEORGE THEOBALD KILIANI, 
surgeon, was born at Munich in Bavaria on Sep- 
tember 5, 1863, as the son of Hermann Kiliani, a 
justice of the Royal Supreme Court, and his 
wife, Caroline K. Faulstich. He was educated 
at the gymnasium at Augsburg, graduating in 
1881, and studied medicine at the universities of 
Munich, Halle and Leipzic, where he received 
his degree as doctor of medicine in 1888. A year 
before, on August 12, 1887, he had married Miss 
Lillian Bayard Taylor at Friedrichsroda in Ger- 
many. Dr. Kiliani served as surgeon in the Third 
Royal Bavarian Artillery Regiment in 1890 in 
Munich. He came to New York in 1891 and 
has since practised his profession with pro- 
nounced success, quickly taking rank as one of 
the leading surgeons of the city. Since 1900 he 
has acted as surgeon to the Imperial German 
Consulate General. He is a fellow of the Acad- 
emy of Medicine, the New York County Medical 
Society, a member of the German Medical Soci- 
ety, the Medico-Surgical Society, the Physicians' 
Mutual Aid Association, the New York Surgi- 
cal Society and the Surgical Society of Berlin, 
and surgeon to the German Hospital. Dr. Kiliani 
is a constant contributor to medical journals 
and encyclopedias and the author of "Diagnosis, 
1905, W 11." He is a Knight of the Bavarian 
Order of St. Michael and the Prussian Order 
of the Red Eagle. With a large practise and fre- 
quently being called into consultation in serious 
cases, devoted to his profession and constantly 
eager to increase his knowledge which rests upon 
an exceptionally firm foundation acquired in 



204 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



many years of study at the best German univer- 
. Dr. Kiliani has little Leisure left and lie- 
longs to but two club-, the German and the New 
York Athletic 

FLORIAN KRUG, physician, was born at 

Mainz, Germany, cm December i_\ [858. He was 
educated in the high school of his native city 
and, after graduating, studied medicine at the 
universities of Freiburg, Marburg, Goettingen, 
Heidelberg, Vienna, Budapest and Paris. After 
completing his studies and having received the 
degree of doctor of medicine, he acted as a sisl 
ant to Privy Councilor Professor Dr. Hegar in 
Freiburg, Germany, at that time one of the most 
eminent gynaecologists in the world. In 1884 Dr. 
Krug came to New Y"rk and began practising his 
profession, confining himself more and more to 
his special field, thai of gynaecology. The large 
experience he had secured during the years of 
study and work in some of the most renowned 
clinics in Europe, and a genial disposition com- 
bined with authoritative firmness, rapidly secured 
for him a splendid reputation among patients as 
well as physicians. Before many years he was uni 
versally recognized as an authority in the field 
he had selected, and as one of the leading gynae- 
cologists of the country. He has acted as at- 
tending gynaecologist to the German Hospital of 
New York for over twenty years and when the 
new Mount Sinai Hospital was erected he was 
appointed gynaecologist to thai institution also, 
He is not only one of the mosl successful among 
the pi neration of German physicians in 

America, but has brougl credit and hon- 

or to German knowledge and science in tin- Uni 
Dr. Krug i- a member of tin- Ger 
man Club, German Liederkranz, New York Ath- 
Club and of various other social and spurt- 
ing organizations and a fellow of practically rdl 
the prominent medical societies in the United 
and abroad. 

LCH'IS II M'PT, physician, was horn in New 
York City on January 7, 1N51, a- the son of 
German parents. He received hi- education in 
the public schi is city, where he gradu 

ated and afterwards Studied in Miami Cnivcr 
sity at Oxford, Ohio, a literary college, 'he Med 
College of Louisville, Ky., and the Medical 
College of New York University. Having com- 
pleted hi- studies and received the degree of 

if of medicine, he in the general 

practise of hi- profession in New York. Of 
studious habits and well read in the classic 
well a- in modern English ami German literature. 
Dr. Haupl ''"'I. a great interest in educational 



matter- and served for several years as school 
trustee and i> now a member of the board of 
education where hi- ripe knowledge of conditions 
and extended experience have been of the gr< 
value for the public schools of his native city. Dr. 
Haupt is a Republican in politics, a member of 
the Arion Society, .Yew York Botanical Garden, 
Xew York Zoological Garden, American Museum 
of Natural History, American Geographical Soci- 
ety and Metropolitan Museum of Art and of the 
County, State, American and German Medical 
Societies. 

HERMAN CHRISTIAN- HENRY HEROLD, 
physician, was born in New York City March 4, 
[854. He removed to Newark. N.J., with his 
parents when a child, and afterward resided 
there. His father and mother both died before 
he wa- eleven years old and he was left the 
second in age of six surviving children to rely 
entirely on his own exertions after that time, as 
well as to assist his younger brother- and sisters. 
He attended the old Twelfth Ward German and 
English school, which was founded by his father 
in 1859, the public school of the same ward, and 
the Newark High School, earning his own living 
while in attendance on the latter. After leaving 
the high school in his senior year, he began his 
busine S life at the age of nineteen, in a gro- 
cery store. In two years he had saved enough 
to warrant him in entering Bellevue Hos- 
pital Medical College, New York, and he was 
graduated Erom that institution in the class of 
[878. He at once commenced the practise of his 
profession in Newark and there built up a large 
and lucrative business, also establishing his 
youngest brother in the same profession. He has 
for many years been a member of the board of 
health of the city, entering it in 1883; two year- 
later he became its president and has continued 
a- such till the present date. Hi- zeal and ef- 
ficiency while a member of this board are most 
commendable. While devoted to his profes- 
sion, Dr. Herold ha- always taken a greal inter- 
e-t in public affairs. In politic- he ha- been a 
pronounced Republican and very popular with 
hi- party. He wa- an alternate delegate at large 
from the -tate of New Jersey to the national Re- 
publican convention of iSJn^, which nominated 
General Harrison for President, and a district 
delegate from Newark to the national conventions 

Of 1892 and [904. He i- emeritu- surgeon 1" St. 
Michael'- Hospital and a member of the I 
County Medical Society. He was for fourteen 
years connected with the National Guard as snr- 
of the Fifth Regiment, from which position 

he was placed on the retired li-t when, on the 




CHARLES CHRISTIAN WEHRUM. 



205 




CHARLES A. STAPLER. 



206 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 207 



reorganization of the First Brigade, N. G.S.N. J., 
that regiment was disbanded. He is treasurer 
of the Order of Military Surgeons of New Jer- 
sey. He is also president of the Security Build- 
ing and Loan Association, and belongs to the 
Masonic fraternity, Knights of Pythias, Benev- 
olent Order of Elks, and numerous other organi- 
zations and societies. He was married November 
6, 1882, to Louisa, daughter of Thomas Kurfess 
of Newark, N.J. His home is one of the most 
hospitable in the city, where he entertains a large 
circle of friends. 

SIGMUND LUSTGARTEN, physician and 
specialist on skin diseases, was born at Vienna, 
Austria, December 19, 1857, and he was edu- 
cated at the University of that place. He came 
to New York City in 1889, where he has since 
resided. Dr. Lustgarten held the chair as lec- 
turer on dermatology at the University of Vi- 
enna ; he fills the same position at Mount Sinai 
Hospital and at Montefiore Home, New York 
City. He is author of a number of scientific 
communications and is correspondent member of 
Foreign Medical Societies of Paris and Vienna. 
In politics he is independent, having never sought 
any public office. He married Beatrice Davis of 
Montreal in 1891. 

RUDOLF C. R. DENIG, physician, was born 
at Frankenthal in Germany on December 8, 1867, 
as the son of Hippolyte and Elisabeth M. (Dalle- 
mand) Denig and received his early education in 
the gymnasium at Neustadt in the Palatinate, 
graduating in 1886. He studied medicine at the 
universities of Heidelberg, Munich, Berlin and 
Wuerzburg, where he received the degree of doc- 
tor of medicine, and later continued his studies 
in Vienna, London and Paris. Soon after be- 
ginning his studies, he had made a specialty of 
ophthalmic surgery, became assistant and in- 
structor at the University Eye Clinic in Wuerz- 
burg and became rapidly known through his pro- 
ficiency and knowledge in this field of medical 
science. His rising fame as an ophthalmologist 
caused Dr. Herman Knapp, the founder of the 
New York Ophthalmic and Aural Institute, to 
induce him to come to America as his assistant. 
Dr. Denig arrived in New York City in 1896 and 
immediately took a place in the front rank of 
physicians engaged in work similar to his own. 
He is an acknowledged authority in his chosen 
field and a large private practise together with 
extensive work in hospitals and other institutions 
furnishes proof of the esteem in which he is held 
by his colleagues as well as the public. He is 
ophthalmic surgeon to the German Hospital and 



Dispensary and employs most of his time not 
taken up by his arduous duties to study and 
writing. Dr. Denig has written many essays and 
articles on ophthalmic subjects, is a regular col- 
laborator of the Zeitschrift fiir Augenheilkunde 
in Berlin, and is now publishing a book on eye 
surgery which will appear in 1909. He is a fel- 
low of the New York Academy of Medicine, a 
member of the New York State and County Med- 
ical Associations, the German Medical Society, 
the Heidelberg Ophthalmic Society and a number 
of other medical, social and charitable organiza- 
tions. Dr. Denig resides at 56 East Fifty-eighth 
Street, New York City, and is unmarried. 

LOUIS ANTON EWALD, physician and sur- 
geon, was born at Hammelburg in Bavaria on 
June 13, 1871, as the son of Frederick G. and 
Catherine Ewald. He was educated at the gym- 
nasium at Munnerstadt and after graduating, 
studied at the universities of Wurzburg, Berlin, 
Munich and Greifswald. In addition to the study 
of medicine, he devoted himself to geography and 
geology, securing a more than ordinary knowledge 
of these subjects. He completed his studies in 
1896 and received the degree of doctor of medi- 
cine from the University of Wurzburg. In 1897 
he came to the United States where his father 
had settled and established himself in the prac- 
tise of his profession in New York City. His 
rise was rapid and having made a specialty of 
gynaecology, he soon was recognized as an au- 
thority in this branch of medicine. He was ap- 
pointed gynaecologist to the German Hospital and 
Dispensary in 1901 and professor of medicine to 
Fordham University in 1907. He is a member of 
many medical societies and clubs, the Catholic 
Club, and the German Liederkranz. Dr. Ewald is 
one of the best and most favorably known of 
the younger German physicians in New York and 
his career has been as remarkable as brilliant. 
Practically all the time not required by his large 
practise he devotes to the study of his prof es ion 
and other scientific subjects in which he is inter- 
ested. 

CARL OTTO PETERS, merchant, was born 
at Brunswick, Germany, where he received his 
education in the schools of his native city. He 
engaged in mercantile business and came to Amer- 
ica when quite young in years as the representa- 
tive of several of the largest and most favorably 
known wine houses in Germany and France. For 
fifty years he carried on the business of im- 
porting wines with pronounced success and gained 
an enviable reputation for himself and the quality 
of his goods all over the country. Mr. Peters 



208 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AM) TIIK1R DKSCKXDAXTS 



was a member of the German Club, German Lied- 
erkranz, Arion, Manhattan Club, Jockey and Lo- 
tos clubs and of a large Dumber of benevolent 
and charitable organizations, lie was married in 
August, 1861, to Miss Lizzie Liebrich and has two 
children, Mrs. Louise Offelmeyer and Conrad L. 
rs, who is associated with him in his busi- 
ness. 

RUDOLF HELWIG, importer, was born at 
Mannheim. Germany, on June 13, 1864. The foun- 
dation of his education was laid in the public 
schools of his native city. After passing through 
them he entered Leeds College in Yorkshire, Eng- 
land, where he studied commercial chemistry and 
dyeing, graduating in 1889. During the next 
four years he was employed in England by a large 
firm and gained the reputation of being an au- 
thority in his profession. In October, 1893, he 
came to America and established himself in the 
business of importing high grade wood pulp. The 
fact that he was an expert chemist and conse- 
quently a judge of what was needed in special 
lines of the paper trade, helped him greatly and 
before long he occupied a commanding position 
in the branch he had selected as the field of his 
activity. He now imports annually about twenty 
thousand tons of the highest grades of sulphite 
pulp used for fine writing and bond papers, and 
supplies manufacturers all over the country, it 
being well known that he handles only the best 
qualities. An independent in politics, Mr. Hel- 
wig has never taken an active part in . partisan 
strife but confined himself to doing his duty as a 
citizen according to hi- convictions. He was mar- 
ried on December 7, 1895, to Miss Anna M. Stad- 
ler and has two children. A member of the Arion 
and the German Liederkranz, he devotes more 
time to outdoor sports than to social amusements 
and belongs to the Wa-Wa Yanda Fishing Club 
of I ire Lland and to a number of country clubs 
where he can indulge his anient love for nature 
and all the pastimes a true sportsman cherishes. 

CH \R1.KS V< IN DER BRUCK, merchant. 
was born in 1862 at bans in Hesse \'a- n, <, 1 

many, and received his education in the Real 
Gymnasium at Wiesbaden where he graduated. 
He gained his commercial experience in Cologne, 
Berlin and other commercial centers of Germany. 
In (887 he established himself in business in Ww 

York as importer of mineral waters, and SO 

successfully introduced the Rhens water — an al- 
kaline table water from Rhens OH the Rhine — that 
it is to-day one of the besl known and most 
popular mineral waters in the United State-. He 



is also the general agent for the Royal Prussian 
mineral springs of Ems and Schwalbach and for 
the mineral waters of the spa Wildungen of Wal- 
deck. During the Louisiana Purchase Exposi- 
tion at St. Louis he acted as the business repre- 
sentative of the mineral springs owned by the 
Prussian Government. Mr. von der Bruck was 
married in 1895. He is a member of the Arion, 
German Liederkranz, Kiehetikranz. Beethoven, 
German Press Club, the German Writers' Asso- 
ciation and other social, literary and benevolent or- 
ganizations, and is also a Mason. While retaining 
all his affection for his native land, he has become 
a loyal and devoted American citizen. 

ALBERT E. KLEINERT, building contractor, 
was born on the Island Ruegen, Germany, on 
June 14, 1862. He was educated by private tu- 
tors under the supervision of his father, wdio him- 
self was a school teacher and a man of wide and 
unusual attainments. He planted in the boy's mind 
the desire for knowledge and higher culture. Mr. 
Kleinert, after passing an examination practically 
and theoretically as a master builder, came to 
America in 1882 and settled in Connecticut where 
he remained until 1884, when he removed to 
Brooklyn. Here he engaged in the building busi- 
ness and soon began to take large contracts, rap- 
idly establishing a reputation for good and relia- 
ble workmanship which, naturally, increased his 
trade until his operations were carried on on a 
large scale. From the beginning he has evinced 
a deep interest in public affairs and organized the 
Central & Smith Street Board of Trade and also 
joined and became active in the Prospect Heights 
Board of Trade, thus joining several movements 
whose object was the improvement of public ad- 
ministration and morals. In fact. Mr. Kleinert 
soon came to be looked upon as a man whose 
assistance was of great value and whose readi- 
ness to assisl fearlessly every effort for better- 
ment in the community led to his appointment by 
the borough president to the advisory committee 
of one hundred. He also received his appoint- 
ment by the mayor of New York Citj as a mem- 
ber of the HudaOn-Fulton Celebration Commis- 
sion. He is an Independent Democrat in politics 
and used all his efforts to bring his fellow Ger- 
man-American citizens to the foremost position 
they should hold in this community. His services 
as a member and officer of the United German 
Singers of Brooklyn were instrumental in the 
bringing about of numerous concerts being given 
in the public parks, devoting a larger part of his 
energies to this work and encouraging his associ- 
ates with work and deed whenever called upon. 




HON. CHARLES G. F. WAHLE. 



209 




AUCUS1 P. WAGNER. 



21ii 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 211 



As president of the Brooklyn Saengerbund Society 
for five consecutive years, he was instrumental in 
bringing the same to the foremost position of any 
kindred organization financially and socially. As 
a member of the German Hospital Association, 
he served one term on the board of trustees. On 
March 18, 1888, he married Miss Emma Lousinger 
and has five children. Mr. Kleinert is a member of 
the following organizations : Kings County Demo- 
cratic Club, Brooklyn Lodge of Elks, Indepen- 
dent Order of Odd Fellows, Free Masons and 
Mystic Shriners, Brooklyn Turn Verein, Municipal 
Art Society of New York, the Brooklyn League 
and Allied Board of Trade and Tax Payers' 
Association. 

PAUL LICHTENSTEIN, banker, was born at 
Frankfort-on-the-Main, and engaged in the bank- 
ing business after receiving a superior education. 
In 1868 he emigrated to America, settling in New 
York, where he has since been connected with 
some of the largest banking houses in the coun- 
try. He is a member of the board of trustees of 
the German Society of the city of New York, of 
the Deutsche Vere n, the Brooklyn Germania 
and the Crescent Athletic Club. In politics a 
Republican, he is independent in his actions, and 
supported Grover Cleveland for the presidency. 
Mr. Lichtenstein takes a warm interest in all 
matters relating to the arts and fine l'terature, 
and is known for lis judgment and refined taste. 
On August 28, 1872, he married Miss Clara Kapp, 
the daughter of the well known lawyer, historian 
and later on member of the German Reichstag, 
Friedrich Kapp. Of their three children, Julie 
Louise and Friedr'ch L. Lichtenstein died in in- 
fancy, while Alfred F. Lichtenstein survives. 

FREDERICK STRANGE KOLLE, M.D., sur- 
geon and author, born Hanover, Germany, No- 
vember 22, 1871. Graduated in medicine from 
Long Island College Hospital 1893. First came 
to Flatbush as a visiting interne in March, 1893, 
at Kings County Hospital, ending his term in 
1894, when he took up service at the Kingston 
Avenue Contagious Disease Hospital during the 
epidemic of smallpox. The same year traveled 
through Mexico and on his return to Brooklyn 
settled into private practise early in 1895. One 
of the first X-ray investigators in the United 
States. Lecturer in electro-therapeutics and as?o- 
ciate editor Electrical Age, 1897-1902. Radio- 
grapher to M.E. Hospital, Brooklyn. Settled 
permanently in Flatbush in 1899. Inventor : ra- 
diometer, Kolle X-ray coil and switching devices, 
dentaskiascope, oesophameter, folding fluoroscope, 
X-ray printing process, Kolle focus tube, direct- 



reading X-ray meter and many instruments used 
in plastic surgery, etc. Author : "The Recent 
Roentgen Discovery, 1896"; "The X-Rays, Their 
Production and Application," 1896; Medico-Sur- 
gical Radiography," 1898; "Pen Lyrics," 1902; 
"Olaf," a scientific novel, 1903; "The Grown Ba- 
by Book," 1903; "Lisps and Lilts," 1905; "Fifty 
and One Tales of Modern Fairyland," 1906; "Ax- 
el and Valborg," 1907; "Subcutaneous Hydrocar- 
bon Protheses," 1908; also many papers on X- 
rays and kindred scientific subjects, child's verse 
and contributions to the daily press. Residence : 
The Japanese House, 131 Buckingham Road, Flat- 
bush. Office: 18-20 West Twenty-fifth Street, 
New York City. 

ADOLPH ROTHBARTH, merchant, was born 
at Frankfort-on-the-Main on May 20, i860, and 
received his education in the high school of his 
native city. After leaving school he entered the 
old house of Rothbarth & Co., which had been 
founded by his grandfather, Phillip Rothbarth, in 
1835 and is now carried on by the third genera- 
tion of the same family. The firm was and is 
now one of the largest importers and exporters 
of hops and Mr. Rothbarth became an expert on 
this article. At the age of twenty-two he started 
for America with the intention of establishing a 
branch office of Rothbarth & Co. He was en- 
tirely alone and left to his own resources, with 
only such letters of recommendation as the son 
of an old established and well known house can 
command. With characteristic pluck he opened 
his office and set out to do business, relying on 
his thorough knowledge of the goods he intended 
to deal in, and determined to succeed. Like his 
grandfather and his father before him, he pros- 
pered and steadily increased his operations until 
he was in the front rank of his line of trade. His 
fairness, his reliability, his expert knowledge of 
hops which made his judgment the final arbiter 
of many a dispute, and his amiability gave him a 
standing in the community worthy of the name 
he bears. In every way he upheld the traditions 
of the family and of the firm to which he suc- 
ceeded. Mr. Rothbarth is a member of the Ger- 
man Liederkranz and finds his relaxation in bowl- 
ing, fishing and other sports of similar nature. He 
is connected with practically every charitable or- 
ganization in the city of any consequence and 
worthy of support and takes an active interest 
in many of them in an official capacity. 

CHARLES J. OBERMAYER was born in 
New York City on November 8, 1869, the son 
of German parents, and received his education in 
the public schools and the College of the City of 



212 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



New York. He kit the college to become a book- 
keeper and later studied law while still acting as 
bookkeeper and cashier for the German-Amer- 
ican Real Estate Title Guarantee Company, of 

which he was later elected secretary and treas- 
urer, having served in this capacity . for over 
twelve year-. He is interested and affiliated with 
many other concerns through investments or offi- 
cial relations. He holds considerable real estate 
in Manhattan and Brooklyn and his property 
claims much of his attention, but the greatesl part 
of his time is probably given to his financial in- 

- in connection with the Greater New York- 
Savings Rank, of which he has been president 
since its organization and whose success and stand- 
ing are essentially due to his efforts. The bank 
was organized on March 27, 1897, and opened 
for business on May third of the same year. The 
institution is located at the corner of Fifth Av- 
enue and Twelfth Street in Brooklyn and is the 
only hank in the district. The necessity for such 
an institution to, and its great value for, the 
neighborhood have been attested by the prosperity 
it has enjoyed from the start. The career of Mr. 
Obermayer illustrates most forcibly the oppor- 
tunities which America affords to her citizens, 
recognizing their merits and rewarding their ef- 
fort- with success. While connected with many 
extensive and important business interests, his 
efforts toward advancing the municipal interests 
of Brooklyn are so incessant .and wisely directed 
and therefore so generally recognized that they 
cannot be considered as of secondary importance 
when viewing his career of signal usefulness. 
While the interest he has taken in practical poli- 
tics 1 1 much of his time, and while his 
stalwart Republicanism on national and state 
issues ha- been exceedingly valuable to his 
party, his services in that direction must neces- 
sarily he considered as less important than those 
of inucli greater value rendered to the community 
a- a whole through public spirit, progressivi 
and liberality, lb- i- yet a young man but has 

he impress of a forcible individuality upon 
busim ! and political life wherever his ac- 

tivity has been aroused. In [892 Mr. Ober 
mayer was married to Mi ss [da Bell Sabin, a 
daughter of William !•".. Sabin. lb- is identified 
with a number of fraternal and religious move 
ments, including the Royal Arcanum, all Masonic 
bodies, Chapters Commandery and I. < ). Hepta 
lb- was presidenl of tl 11 League of Ameri 
can Wheelmen in the United States, a membi 
the Crescenl Vthletic club. Automobile Club of 
America, Twelfth Assembly District Republican 
Club. Boston Bicycle « Hub, Good Road 
tion; trustee South Brooklyn Board of Trade, 



Brooklyn League, Prospect Heights Citizens As- 
sociation, the Twelfth Street Reformed Church; 
chairman of the advisory committee of the Brook- 
lyn Nursery and Infants' Hospital ; president Xar- 
ragansett burnishing Co.; director Home Title In- 
surance Co.; director Fifth Avenue Branch Me- 
chanics Bank; Bibliophile Society of Boston. He 
keeps well informed on the issues of the day, giv- 
ing loyal support to the principles in which he be- 
lieves. Wherever Mr. Obermayer is known, he is 
held in the highest regard on account of his ster- 
ling integrity and his fidelity to principle. 

JULIUS W. BRUNN, merchant, was born at 
Hamburg on May _•_>, 1833, and died at 430 Grand 
Avenue, Brooklyn, on December 30, 1907. He 
was educated in private schools in his native city. 
In 1854 he emigrated to America and entered the 
employ of a mercantile house. His energy and 
ambition led him to seek for wider fields and in 
1857 he established himself in the importing 
business on his own account. He was successful 
from the start and on August 3, 1858, he formed 
the firm of Hagemeyer & Brunn, which rapidly 
became one of the most important houses in the 
line in which it was engaged, and is still doing 
business with undiminished prestige. Mr. Brunn 
was always a strong Republican and counted 
many eminent men, like President Grant and 
Henry Ward Beecher, among his intimate friends. 
He took a very active part in local affairs and 
devoted a large part of his energies to furthering 
public improvements in Brooklyn and to the amel- 
ioration of conditions, especially in the govern- 
ment and the administration of the city. He was 
a member of the German Club, the German Lieder- 
kranz of New York City, the Germania Club and 
the Lincoln Club of Brooklyn. He was also a di- 
rector of the German Savings Bank. Mr. Brunn 
was married in Europe on December 15, 1 S57, to 
Miss Charlotte Elizabeth Going. Five children, 
Constantin, Armin, Lincoln, Freda and Else, sur- 
vive him. Mrs. Brunn died at her summer home, 
Liskevcen Farm, South Woodstock, Conn., on 
July 31, 1004. 

HENRY W. B ^HRENBURG, a man of ,,f 
fairs, was bom at Hoboken, X.J. December 13. 
1X71, where he attended the public schools. Mr. 
Bahrenburg is a son of the late John Henry Bah- 
renburg, a splendid type of the -elf made G 1 
man, who died in [889 •'"id who. when a boy of 
twelve years of age, left his native town of Fis- 
cherhader, near Bremen, Germany, in 1838, and 
emigrated to America. In [869 he established 
what is now the well known wholesale produce 
and commissi, ,11 house <>f J. II. Bahrenburg, 





THEODORE SUTRO. 



EMIL WELTE. 





JACOB WOLFGANG MACK. 



PETER H. RAPPENHAGEN. 



213 





KI'I'tii.F C. R. DENIG. 



CARL OTTO PETERS. 





JOHN BORKEL. 



JOB N Gl ORGE GILLIG. 



214 




GEORGE GILLIG. 



215 



.^ 




\ 



ANTHONY J. VOI.K. 



216 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 217 



Brother & Company, located at Nos. 103 and 105 
Murray Street, New York City. The concern is 
to-day one of the largest, as well as one of the 
most reliable of its kind in the country. On 
June 30, 1889, Mr. Bahrenburg died at his home 
in Hoboken, leaving a widow and three daugh- 
ters and three sons and mourned by a large circle 
of friends. During his lifetime he set a high 
standard for the German citizen ; he was genial 
toward all and correct in principle and practise, 
both in business and social life, with an instinct- 
ive love of what was right, and an equally de- 
termined antipathy to all that was mean and 
wrong. Henry W. Bahrenburg, the subject of 
this sketch, is well known in the financial and 
commercial world of New York City and Hobo- 
ken. He is a member of the old firm of J. H. 
Bahrenburg, Brother & Company of New York; 
is president of the Mountain Ice Company of New 
Jersey, president of the New York and New Jer- 
sey Produce Company ; he is also interested in sev- 
eral banking institutions of Hudson County, N.J. 
In politics he is a Republican. He has never sought 
nor desired to hold public office, his time being 
fully occupied with his extensive private business 
interests. On January 24, 1893, Mr. Bahrenburg 
married Miss Jessie A. Gahagan, daughter of 
the late James C. Gahagan, Esq., who was born 
at London, England, in 1845. He came to Amer- 
ica with his parents when he was a lad of six 
years of age, and has been an honored and es- 
teemed citizen of Hoboken since 1865. Two chil- 
dren have been born to the union : Charles Alfred 
and Frank Dudley, both of whom are living. Mr. 
Bahrenburg resides at Summit, N.J., where he has 
a beautiful home over which his wife faithfully 
discharges her duties as a charming ho tess. Mr. 
Bahrenburg is a man possessed of agreeable and 
pleasing manners, a feature he displays in com- 
mercial as well as in his social walks of life. Al- 
though a strict disciplinarian, by his kindly dis- 
. position, he commands the esteem of his em- 
ployees and his perseverance, integrity and abil- 
ity to organize and execute have secured him a 
high position in the business world. 

FRANK GASS.— In public life and the busi- 
ness affairs of this city there is no more repre- 
sentative or progressive German-American than 
Frank Gass, register of the county of New York 
and one of the leading Democrats of the borough 
of the Bronx. Mr. Gass was elected to the high 
office he now holds in the fall of 1905, after a 
heated contest, receiving the largest vote of any 
candidate on the Democratic ticket. Since as- 
suming his present responsible position he has 
initiated many improvements that have won the 



approval of the lawyers and real estate men of 
this county. Register Gass has been prominent 
in Democratic politics for over twenty years. For 
many years he held the office of town assessor 
of the old town of Westchester. After annexa- 
tion he was elected as the first alderman from 
that section of the greater city. For four con- 
secutive terms he was a member of the board, 
each term being elected by increased majorities. 
Because of his personal popularity it was always 
considered a hopeless task for any one to run 
against Mr. Gass. Nearly twenty-five years ago 
Mr. Gass removed from Harlem to Unionport, 
where he has since resided. He immediately es- 
tablished himself in the real estate business and 
to-day is the recognized authority on real estate 
in his section. No one ever thinks of consum- 
mating a real estate transaction east of the Bronx 
River without first consulting Register Gass. Dur- 
ing his membership in the board of aldermen he 
was on all the important committees but concen- 
trated his efforts mainly on securing rapid transit 
and other public improvements for the Borough 
of the Bronx. No recent improvement in the 
Bronx has been secured without the active co-op- 
eration of Mr. Gass. Mr. Gass is noted for his 
modest and unassuming work as a practical phil- 
anthropist. He is a member of many social and 
charitable societies and his practical support is 
always sought when meritorious charitable proj- 
ects are undertaken. He was one of the founders 
of the Odd Fellows Home in Unionport, which 
is a model of its kind. For many years he was 
a trustee of that institution and was active in its 
management. He is still deeply interested in the 
work of the Home. He is a member of the Chip- 
pewa Democratic Club, treasurer of the Tam- 
many Hall General Committee of the annexed dis- 
trict, prominent in the Westchester Maennerchor 
and other German societies and he is also high up 
in the councils of the Masonic order. Register 
Gass was born in Bavaria June 9, 1852, and was 
educated in the primary and high schools of his 
native country. He came to this country in 1872 
and settled in what was then known as the old 
town of Melrose. He became apprenticed to a 
painter and after learning his trade moved to 
Harlem and established himself in business. By 
thrift and perseverance he soon made his mark 
and in a remarkably short time accumulated a 
prosperous business. In 1880 he decided to retire 
from the painting trade and moved to his present 
home in Unionport whither many of his friends 
had preceded him. Although a young man he 
soon became prominent in the politics of the old 
town of Westchester which was shown by his 
election as assessor. He has for years been prom- 



21S SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



inent in the- public eye and is noted for his pro- 
bity and high civic and moral ideas. He is mar- 
ried and with his wife is active and prominent in 
the social life of Unionport. 

I'i:i IK II. RAPPENHAGEN, one of Brook- 
lyn'- foremost citizens, was born April 27, 1831, 
at Hanover, Ottcndorf, Germany, and like many 
other successful men who began life in an hum- 
ble way, received his education in the local public 
schools of his native place. This period was 
brief, for he was only fourteen when he left his 
school to begin his fight for a future. Seeing 
nothing in the way of a business opening, he pro- 
employment upon a farm and for years 
he did the hardest kind of work. The de-ire for 
something more congenial whereby better oppor- 
tunities might be realized, prompted him to come 
to this country in [851. His first position, on 
arrival, was that of a porter in Stuart's sugar 
house, lie remained in that place for only two 
months, but the little experience he secured and 
from which he made great use, convinced him 
that the grocery trade was what he desired. The 
next position he took was with a grocery house 
in the lower part of New York City; in this 
new tiebl he worked hard to gather all the neces- 
sary details thai would warrant him in embarking 
in the business on his own account. One more 
change for the better, and in the latter place he 
remained for two years. At the end of that time 
he had saved some money, but bad gained more 
experience. After having resided in Xew York 
for fourteen years, he moved to Brooklyn in 1868 
and settled at the corner of Park Avenue and 
Cumberland Street. It was there he realized his 
dream, for he conducted one of the finest gro- 
cery establishments in that part of Brooklyn 
which he establi hed with a cash capital of only 
eighty dollars. Each year his business grew, 
and in iSS_> he retired from active life, having 
achieved not only commercial success but the 
1 of all who had come in contact with him. 
Politically, Mr. Rappenhagen ha- always been in- 
dependent, lb- never sought any public office. 
Nearly nineteen years of hi- life have been given 
to miliar In [86o lie joined the State 

Militia and from the rank of private he ro e to 
that of first lieutenant, in which capacity he 
served with great dignity for twelve years. It 
wa- not until 1K72 that In- reached the height 
that was more suited to hi- personality ; he was 
made a major of the Fifteenth Battalion of 

Brooklyn and held this command for six and 

one-half years. On May i-\ 1854, Mr. Happen 

hagen married Mi-- Anna Katrina. N'o children 

bortl to thr union. lb- i- a member of sev 



era! organizations, viz. : Trustee of the Home of 
Immigration, trustee of Orphan Asylum at Mt. 
Vernon, X.Y.; lir.-t vice-president of the Ger- 
mania Saving- Bank of Brooklyn, a member of 
the German Hospital and the German Saenger- 
bund. 

JULIUS STRAUSS, builder and real estate 
operator as well as a man of affairs, was born in 
Xew York City December 1, 1862. He obtained 
a thorough education in the public schools, after 
which he entered commercial fields at an early 
age. For the past twenty years he has been a 
resident of Brooklyn, where he is largely inter- 
ested in real estate and building operations. Mr. 
Strauss is considered one of the best authorities 
on real estate values in the Greater City of Xew 
York. He is the treasurer of the Edgar Im- 
provement Company, whose extensive offices are 
located at Xo. 12 Court Street, Brooklyn. The 
company figure among the most important real 
estate and building corporations in Xew York as 
developers and builders. Mr. Strauss is on the 
board of directors of Unity Church. Hebrew Or- 
phan Asylum. Long I -land Safe Deposit Co., 
Training School of Jewish Hospital and is vice- 
president of the Citizens Trust Co. He married 
Miss Tillie Michel December 1, 1807. Mr. and 
Mrs. Strauss are prominently identified with 
Brooklyn social life and have a large number of 
warm personal friends. 

EMIL V. WALDENBERGER, wholesale 
leather merchant, was born March 20, [845, at 
Assamstadt, Baden. He was carefully educated 
in the public schools and later wa- given private 
instruction in Latin and French preparatory to 
entering the I'.o\ -' Seminary at Freiberg. It was 
the intention of Mr. Waldenberger to study the- 
ology, but after some application to the profession 
he decided his inclinations ran toward a com- 
mercial career, which he later adopted. In 1866 
he came to America, locating in Xew York City, 
where he has resided ever since. I he first four 

years of his life in Xew York were spent in the 

tea and grocery lines. He then obtained a position 

a- German correspondent for the Guardian Mu- 
tual Life Insurance Company, 2-1 Broadway, 
which be successfully tilled for four years. His 
next occupation was that of bookkeeper in the 
leather, upper and shoe finding house of Henry 
Arthin, Xo- 84 ami 86 Cold Street, with whom 
he remained live year-. In 1S7S Mr. Walden- 
berger engaged in that line of business on his own 
account, He achieved great success and on Sep- 
tember 1. 1907, retired from active commercial 

life. Mr. Waldenberger is a member of the Arioti 




FRANK H. CORDTS. 



219 




i i - G. M ii. i.i R. 



T)|) 




BERNARD KARSCH. 



221 





HENRY L. SCHMIDT. 



GEURCE H. STEIL. 





JONAS WEIL. 



HON. I v OB H tUSSLING. 



222 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 223 



Singing Society, the Houseowners' Association 
of the Twelfth and Nineteenth Wards. For eight 
years (1868 to 1876) he was a member of the 
Eleventh Regiment, National Guard, State of New 
York. On October 10, 1874, Mr. Waldenberger 
married Miss Magdalena Bang. Ten children 
were born to the union, six ci whom are living 
and four deceased. The living children are : 
Charles, Emmilie, Dora, Emil, George, Alfred. 
Tho^e who are deceased are Mary, Magdalena, 
Gretchen and Herman. Aside from the various 
social organizations he is affiliated with, he finds 
much time to spend with his family. His suc- 
cess in life has been acquired only through the 
hardest trials and hardships, and now at the age 
of sixty-two he can lay aside the cares of a busy 
life and feel that he has really succeeded. 

PHILIP HEXAMER, one of Hoboken's old- 
est and highest esteemed citizens, was born Octo- 
ber 2j, 1830, at Meisenheim, Germany, and most 
of his early youth was spent around his native 
town. He received his only education at Meisen- 
heim, and that period was very brief as he left 
school at the age of fourteen years. He did odd 
chores on his father's farm for several years and 
his early hardships were rather severe. He was 
about twenty-one years of age when he decided to 
come to America and face the world upon his 
own responsibilities and reached New York City 
in the latter part of 1855. After a brief residence 
in New York, he moved to Hoboken, N.J. He 
engaged in the bakery business and in a short 
time he established two stores. He continued in 
this line up to the early sixties, when he bought 
an interest in a riding academy originally es- 
tablished by the Stevens family. Mr. Hexamer 
joined forces with William Walter and under 
their able management the venture was crowned 
with success. Later on his labors were directed in 
a different channel. He engaged in the brewing 
business and for some time the firm was known 
as Peter & Hexamer. A few years, however, 
brought him back to his former business. He 
did not reestablish his riding academy until his 
return from Europe in 1873. This academy, the 
best in Hoboken at that time, occupied the pres- 
ent site of St. Mary's Catholic Church on Willow 
Avenue and Fourth Street. Up to the time of its 
discontinuance, it was the headquarters of the 
followers of equestrian sports. In politics Mr. 
Hexamer was an Independent. He never aspired 
to any public office. In the early sixties he was 
one of the enthusiastic organizers as well as one 
of the officers of a mounted volunteer military 
troop which rendered valuable service to the city 
of Hoboken during the early riots and other dis- 



turbances of those days. Mr. Hexamer was not 
a club man. His only affiliation was with the 
Masonic order, Hudson Lodge. He attended the 
German Lutheran Church. On January 18, 1857, 
he married Miss Anna Peter of Achery, Baden, 
Germany, and to this union were born two chil- 
dren, one of whom died in infancy. Mr. Hexa- 
mer died at his residence in Hoboken on June 1, 
1902, and was mourned by a host of friends who 
remembered him as a loyal citizen, whose natural 
modesty, affability, and honorable business meth- 
ods left a lasting impression upon those who had 
the good fortune of his acquaintance. His son, 
Alexander Philip, was born in Hoboken on Octo 
ber 29, 1857, and has taken up the reins where his 
father left them and to-day is conducting the 
finest and best equipped riding academy in Hobo- 
ken. He possesses many of his father's admira- 
ble qualities, and is one of Hoboken's best citi- 
zens, taking an active interest in city affairs. He 
is a director of the Trust Company of New Jer- 
sey, People's Savings Deposit and Trust Company, 
Bergen Lafayette Trust Company, Colonial Life 
Insurance Company of America, Hudson County 
Gas Company and belongs to the German Club 
of Hoboken and the German Riding Club of 
Hoboken. 

SAMUEL STRASBOURGER, lawyer, was 
born in New York City on May 2^, 1867, and 
received his education in the public schools and the 
College of the City of New York. He studied 
law at the University of New York and received 
the degree of L.L.B. After being admitted to 
the bar, he engaged in the practise of his pro- 
fession in New York. Mr. Strasbourger has taken 
a warm interest in public affairs and served as 
tax commissioner under Mayors Low and Mc- 
Clellan. He was first vice-president of the New 
York Republican County Committee from 1904 
to 1905, and a member of the Republican State 
Committee. Mr. Strasbourger is a member of the 
Republican Club, the Bar Associations of New 
York City and the state of New York ; trustee of 
the Hebrew Orphan Asylum and the Sydenham 
Hospital, a thirty-second degree Mason and mem- 
ber of many other social and benevolent organiza- 
tions. In 1903 he married Miss May Blanche 
Gayner and has two children. 

ADOLPH W. ENGLER, merchant, was born 
at Braunschweig, Germany, on September 23, 
1824, and received his education in the Real- 
Gymnasium of his native city. After his gradua- 
tion, Mr. Engler engaged in commercial pursuits 
and came to America at the age of twenty-six 
years, settling at Baltimore and connecting him- 



224 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



self with the leaf tobacco trade On July i, 1863, 
iinded a branch house of the Baltimore firm 
of F. L. Brauns & Co., in New York City, under 
the name of Kremelberg & Co., which, under his 
management, soon became one of the leading ex 
porting houses of leaf tobacco. Mr. Engler 1- an 
independent Democrat in politics and was for 
twenty-eight years trustee and secretary of the 
English Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, of 
which he is still a member. He also has the dis- 
tinction of being one of the oldest living members 
of the Deutsche Verein, Chamber of Commerce 
and .\\\v York Produce Exchange. Mr. Engler 
ha- been married twice: in November, [858, to 

Miss Julia E. Spilckei, who died in March. 1873, 
and in April, 1S75. to Miss Elizabeth F. Brauns. 
who died in November, 1906, both of Baltimore. 
Six children were horn to him: William S., 
Adolph, Jr.. Henry R.. Ferdinand B., Minna F., 
married to J. W. Lieh. Jr., ami Julia E. 

JOHN GEORGE GRILL, merchant, was horn 
at Hanau on the Main on September 24, 1865. He 
received a superior education at the Gymnasium 
of his native city and the Hoffmann Institute at 
Si Goarshausen. After graduation Mr. Grill 

;hool and served as one year's volunteer in 
the Ninety-seventh Regiment of Infantry from 
1884 to 1885. He then engaged in business in 
France and Spain but was sent by his Paris house 
to America in 1888 and was successful from the 
start. Full of energy and of genial disposition, 

ssing the gifl of making friends quickly and 
endowed with decided business ability. Mr. Grill 
seemed to be cut out for the profession he se- 
lected, that of writing insurance in all its branches. 
ined 11. 1\ Poggenburg & Co., one of the 

• and best known firms in this line, and was 
admitt rtnership after a few years. In 

addition, he is treasurer of the firm of 11. S L< 
clercq «!v Co., manufacturers of and dealers in pa 

Mr. Grill is widely known and a memb 
many clubs and societies, anion- them the New 
York Athletic Club, German Liederkran/. Arion. 
Melrose. Turn Verein, Masonic Club, German 
Hospital Association, German Society and Fritz 
im. 1 le i- a Mason of Kane Lodge 
No. 4:4 He was married on January jo, [89I, 
t,, Mis. Louise Poggenburg and has a family of 
seven children, three DO) and four uirB. Me is 

a worthy representative of the younger genera- 
tion of Germans who have come to America and 
displayed the same splendid qualities which made 

their forerunners such valuable citizens of the 
Union, though more practical and with a firmer 
w;rasp of the realities of life, and he bids fair 
to he a power in the community before many 



years have gone. In politics Mr. Grill is an in- 
dependent 1 )emocrat. 

JOHN P. WTNDOLPH was born in Prussia 

on June 30. 1S44, and educated in the public 
schools. After learning the trade of a gilder, he 
came to America at the age of sixteen years. In 
New York he soon found work at his trade and 
completed his education in the evening schools. In 
[861, when hardly seventeen years old, he enlisted 
in the Seventh New York Volunteers, Company 
D, and served until mustered out in 1863. During 
this lime he was continually at the front and took 
part in many engagements, notably in Virginia 
and in the "Seven Days' Battle" under Colonel 
George von Schack. After his term of enlist- 
ment had expired, he reenlisted in the Second 
New Jersey Cavalry and served until the end of 
the war in 1865. When mustered out. he returned 
to New York and worked at his trade on his own 
account. From 1869 until 1884 he was engaged 
in the hotel business, operating the Utah House 

at Twentj fifth Street and Eighth Avenue. He 
had always taken a lively interest in public af- 
fairs and politics and gained many friends by his 
genial disposition and his readiness to help others 
who needed assistance. His election to the As- 
sembly in 1884 was the natural outcome of his 
activity in this direction. He was reelected in 
[885 but declined a third nomination which was 
offered to him. In the meantime he had retired 
from the hotel business and devoted himself to 
extensive dealings in real estate, in which he has 
been verj successful. Following the urgenl wishes 
of his friends, he accepted tlie Republican nomi- 
nation for alderman for the Fifteenth Districl in 
[893 and was elected with a plurality of five hun- 
dred votes in a district which normally giv< 
Democratic candidate a majority of over twenty- 
five hundred. In the fall of iSoj he was elected 
vice-president <>i the Board "i Aldermen and 
served as such for three years. At the end of his 
term he was appointed aqueduct commission 
the city of New York and still holds this ctffice. 
He has been the Republican leader <>\ the Eleventh 
Vssembl] Districl for over ten years. Mr. Win- 
dolph is a member of many clubs and has been 
active in all of them. Among them are the Re 

publican Club. West Side Republican Club. Union 
Republican Club of the Bronx and the Ninth and 
Fifteenth Assembly I district clubs. He is a di- 
• of the Arion Society and was for four 
president of the Heinebund, at the present 
time serving as vice president. As a Mason, he 
is a member of Metropolitan Lodge, Washington 
Chapter and York Commandery, and the Veterans' 
associations he belongs to are Janus C Rice Post, 




JOHN REIFE. 



225 




WILLIAM P. RINI I. II"! I 



226 




CHARLES F. HOLM. 



227 




.Toll N REIS1 N U'l BER. 



228 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 229 



No. 29 G.A.R., and the Veterans' Organization of 
the Seventh New York Volunteers. Mr. Windolph 
is also a director of the West Side Bank. If 
the fact is taken into consideration that John P. 
Windolph came to America with nothing but the 
knowledge of a trade and such natural gifts as 
had been bestowed upon him, and that even his 
education had to be completed after his arrival 
and while he was already earning his bread by 
the work of his hands, the fact that he did achieve 
success not only as far as the possession of world- 
ly goods is concerned, but also by securing the es- 
teem and friendship of all who came in contact 
with him, and that substantial honors were given 
to him, easily proves that he belongs among the 
American citizens of German birth who deserve to 
be placed in the front rank. He married Miss 
Eva Appell of New York City and has six chil- 
dren : August, Arthur, Louisa, Emilie, Emma and 
Lydia. 

HERMANN HEGEXER, merchant, was born 
at Brussels, Belgium, as the son of German par- 
ents, and received his education in the Gymnasi- 
um of his birthplace. He engaged in mercantile 
business and came to New York in 1886, taking 
charge of the foreign correspondence of a large 
commission house. Having secured the necessary 
familiarity with the American market, Mr. Hege- 
ner decided to make himself independent, and 
went to Europe to secure agencies for high class 
goods suitable for export to America. He was 
successful in obtaining the agency of one of the 
largest and best known lace houses in Brussels 
and operated for a time in conjunction with a 
commission house. In 1896 he started under his 
own name and has since then carried on the busi- 
ness of importing real lace and other similar 
lines with marked success. He spends four or 
five months of every year in Europe and must be 
counted among the most noticeable and prominent 
of the younger generation of German merchants 
in New York. He was married in January, 1888, 
to Miss Rosa Hofmann of Leipzig. 

OTTO GERDAU, merchant, was born at Ham- 
burg, Germany, in the year 1852. After com- 
pleting his education at the Johanneum and ser- 
ving an apprenticeship with a large mercantile 
firm in his native city, he went, in i8~r, to Lon- 
don for the well known ivory firm of Heine Ad. 
Meyer of Hamburg. One year later, in 1872, he 
decided to come to America and, arriving in New 
York, he established himself as importer and com- 
mission merchant under the firm name of Otto 
Gerdau, which, in 1906, was changed to the Otto 
Gerdau Co. Mr. Gerdau does not believe in "All 



work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," but 
rather that youth and work should go together 
and his untiring application to his business is the 
cause that it is to-day one of the largest in its 
line. Mr. Gerdau is fond of yachting and a 
member of the German Verein. In 1894 he mar- 
ried Miss Clara Ehlermann of St. Louis. 

JOSEPH FREY, manufacturer, was born at 
Altdorf in Baden, Germany, on November 6, 
1854. He came to America with his parents when 
a boy and received his education in the parochial 
and public schools of New York City. After 
leaving school, Mr. Frey engaged in commercial 
pursuits and finally established himself as a man- 
ufacturer of supplies for artificial flowers, in 
which line he has met with decided success. Be- 
ing gifted with great musical talent and an un- 
usually fine voice, he studied singing and became 
well known as a church singer. He is a member 
of Mater Dolorosa Parish in Pitt Street, New 
York City, and has given much of his time and 
energy to church matters, especially devoting him- 
self to the interests of German Catholics. Mr. 
Frey is president of the County Federation of 
German Catholics, member of the Katholische 
Saengerbund, of the Catholic Club, the executive 
boards of the New York State Federation of 
Catholic Societies and the German Roman-Catho- 
lic Central Federation of North America, St. Jo- 
seph's Benevolent Society, Fidelia Singing Soci- 
ety, Annunciation Council 71 C.B.L., and the 
German Liederkranz ; also a corporate member 
of the "Leo Haus" for the protection of German- 
Catholic emigrants. He is an independent Demo- 
crat in politics but has never held public office. On 
October 16, 1883, Mr. Frey married Miss Anna 
Ziegler of New York City. His oldest son, Dr. 
Joseph L. Frey, is a graduate of Georgetown 
University and a practising physician; the other 
children are Elizabeth, Leander A., Anna M. and 
Maximilian Herbert Frey. 

HUGO H. RITTERBUSCH, lawyer, was born 
in New York City on September 26, 1862, as the 
son of William Ritterbusch, born at Brunswick, 
Germany, and his wife, Elise, nee Kohler. who 
came from Hesse in Germany. Mr. Ritterbusch 
was educated in Public School No. 58 from which 
he graduated in 1877; he took the classical course 
in the College of the City of New York and grad- 
uated in 1882 with the degree of bachelor of arts. 
He studied law in Columbia University Law 
School, graduating in 1887 with the degree of 
bachelor of laws, and was admitted to the Bar of 
the state of New York in 1888 and to the United 
States Courts in 1899. From 1883 until 1888 he 



23o SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



was instructor in mathematics at Stevens High 
School in Hoboken, X.J, and since that time he 
has been a practising lawyer in the city of New 
Y<>rk. He i- a Democrat in politics and a member 
of the genera] committee of Tammany Hall. Mr. 

rbusch has been a resident of New York City 
all his life, but passes a few months of every 
year at his country residence at Central Valley 
in < '• nty, N.Y., where he indulges in his 

favorite pastime of outdoor sports, especially fish- 
ing, for Ik- i- known as an expert fly Fisherman. 
He ha- taken an active interest in many of the 
movement- inaugurated for the public welfare, 
especially for the promotion of German art ami 
music, ami the preservation of German social 

ms, a- well as in public demonstrations for 
tlie general welfare. Mr. Ritterbusch never held 
public office, hut i- president of the Heinebund 
Singii - - . an ex president and member of 

the board of director- of the West Side Mutual 
Building, Loan and Savin-- Association; secre- 
tary and counsel for the Central Valley Land Im- 
provement Co.: member of the Arion Society and 
veral year- one of it- directors, a member 
of the Columbia University and College of the 
i Ww York Alumni Associations, a dele- 
gate to tli,- United Real Estate Owners' Associ 
ation, and counsel and director of a number of 
commercial enterprises. During the great Na- 
tional Singing Festival in 1894 he served on the 
hoard of director- and a- chairman of tin- press 
and printing committee. Mr. Ritterbusch mar- 
ried Mi-- Annie L. Maack. 

CARL 1-.MIL SI II Z. merchant and treasurer 

of the Arabol Manufacturing Company, horn in 

II. Switzerland, August 20, 1843, obtained 

lucation at the St. Gall Commercial School, 

the Academy of Science-. Geneva, Switzerland; 

the Scl 1 of 1 >r Clayton Palmer Barnet, near 

London, and the evening courses of the Ecole des 

Arts Paris. 1 1<- also attended the 

! Military School for Artillery Officers at 

Thun. Switzerland, and was breveted lieutenant 

illerj in 1863. Vfter having occupied cleri 

cal positions in prominent business houses in St. 

Call and Paris, he came to \111erica in [866 In 

1870 ' junior partner in the old well 

and mo ' nan linn, 

t I I lainhinann & Co., imp- . dry 

and woolen-, with a branch house at Lyon-, 

I-'ran. [ the most promi 

!i and Swiss manufacturers 

Dambmann ft Co. was the iir-t German 

import house which, in 1870, took up th' -ah- of 

■ unt • f American 
manufacturer- against cash advances, Mr. 



taking in one million dollar-" worth of such ac- 
count- during the absence of the partner, C. 1 Y 
Dambmann, locked up in Lyons in consequence 
of the French War when the French manager and 

clerk- resigned in order to avoid the in-ults of 

their countrymen for serving a German employer. 
Mr. Dambmann was safe and unmolested as an 

American citizen and intimate friend of the Amer- 
ican Consul-general Osterhaus. To-day domestic 
goods are said to form the hulk of the business of 
the big German dry goods importer-. The firm of 
C. F. Dambmann & C<>. was dissolved in [897 
for reasons which would form an interesting 
chapter of reading in a hook entitled "The Cur e 
of a Protective Tariff." Mr. Seitz then traveled 

for several years in this countrj and Europe. 

Still too young to remain inactive, in [882 he be 
came a member of the firm of Seitz ft Gould (suc- 
ors to one of the oldest firms in the china 
trade. Cary ft Co. I. a- importer- of tea- and ex- 
porter- of American produce, grain, rosin and 
petroleum. By the well known Standard < til tac- 
tic- playing false to almost every hou e distribut- 
ing their oil in foreign countries, a loss of forty 
thousand dollar- was sustained in two week-. Such 
lr--.ni- were too discouraging and finding besides 
the tea and produce commission business to., spec 
ulative, unsafe and unpromising, Mr. Seitx with- 
drew. In [889, with Messrs. Jungbluth and 
Weingaertner, experienced drug importers, the 
Arabol Manufacturing Co. wa- formed in order 
to exploil an invention for making artificial gum 
arabic, a promising enterprise in view of the 

Soudan being closed 011 account of the war with 

the Mahdi. However, dextrine knocked out the 
head of artificial and natural .mini arahic. Al 
though expectations in this direction were frus 
i. principally owing to Mr. Weingaertner's 
untiring study and energy about two hundred new 

article- were created ill the lim table glues 

and adhesives for pasting and sizing silks, cotton-. 

woolen-, paper, Straw, wall-, etc.. such articles 

finding a ready sale in Vmerica and many foreign 
countries Mr. Seitz is a Free Trader and in 
politic- an Independent, so called Mugwump, \t 
one time he wa- trustee of the German American 
School of the Nineteenth Ward and for several 
years vice-president of the German Hospital M< 
i- -till a member of the German Liederkranz and 
,; 1 Minn Singing Societies, the Metropolitan Mu 
-.inn of \rt. Yew York Sw 1 - (luh. German Hos 
pital and Dispensary, Deutsche Gesellschaft, ["o 
rev Botanical ("luh. National Geographical Soci 
American Society for the Advancement of 
Science, Yew York Produce Exchange, Swiss 
Benevolent Society, Smith Infirmary and Citi 
1 'ni. .11. ( >n < ) :t( ibi r 1 1. 1869, Mr. Seitz 




GUSTAV HAUSER. 



231 




CARL ORDEMANN. 



2.^2 




\ 




OTTO WESSELL. 



233 




AIM IHK I.. \\ I 5S1 I.I . 



234 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 235 



married Miss Anna Margaretha Clausen. Four 
children have been born, viz. : Carl Arthur, now 
doctor of chemistry; Oscar Roland, now vice- 
president of the German Liederkranz ; Walther 
Robert and Ida Carolina. 

CARL FREDERICK GOEPEL, merchant, was 
born at Oberlungwitz, Saxony, on February 24, 

1845, where he obtained an education at the vil- 
lage school. In 1865 he came to America, locating 
in New York City, where he has continued to 
reside ever since. From 1865 to 1869, however, he 
served in the United States Regular Army and 
was stationed most of the time in Texas. Mr. 
Goepel is a Republican in politics; he has never 
held any political office, nor has he desired to. 
He is a prominent member of the Liederkranz 
German Society. In 1872 he married Miss Clara 
Heeser, who died in 1879. On August 24, 1879, 
he married Miss Heeser, sister of his first wife, 
of New York City. They have nine living chil- 
dren and one deceased. Mr. Goepel is a man who 
is popular both in commercial and social walks 
of life. Mr. Goepel died suddenly on December 
5, 1907, and was mourned by a host of friends. 

JOHN RIEFE, president of the Consumers' 
Brewing Company of New York, Limited, was 
born at Gestemiinde, Germany, on September 9, 

1846, where he obtained an education in the local 
schools. At the age of fifteen, he was employed 
as an apprentice by a merchant, with whom he 
remained for four years. He then went to 
Bremen, where he became connected with a dry- 
goods house, with which he remained for three 
years. In 1866, Mr. Riefe came to America and 
settled in New York City. When he arrived in 
this country, he was unable to speak the English 
language. He secured a clerkship with a grocery 
concern and, after several years of hard work 
and steady application, he saved enough money 
to embark in business on his own account. He 
opened a grocery store in Hoboken, N.J., which 
he conducted for nine years. He then returned 
to New York and became associated with the 
Clausen & Price Brewing Company as a collector 
for that concern. Being possessed of great am- 
bitions and endowed with a strong force of char- 
acter, Mr. Riefe was soon promoted to the posi- 
tion of secretary and treasurer of the company. 
His knowledge of the brewing process qualified 
him as an expert in 1890. With the co- 
operation of Mr. H. H. Hingslage, Mr. 
Diedrich Knabe, Mr. William P. Rinckhoff and 
Mr. Henry L. Meyer, Mr. Riefe organized 
the Consumers' Brewing Company of New York, 
Limited, and he was then afforded a better oppor- 



tunity to exercise his talents and develop his ex- 
ceptional qualities. He was elected vice-presi- 
dent of the new corporation and, after the death 
of Mr. Herman Hingslage, the president, in 
1900, Mr. Riefe became the executive head 
of the company and still continues as such. 
Beginning with a comparatively small plant, the 
Consumers' Brewing Company of New York, 
Limited, is to-day one of the largest cooperative 
brewing concerns of its kind in the United States, 
and supplies an annual demand of more than 
225,000 barrels of beer. Its vast interests are 
far-reaching and the magnitude of its product 
marks the company as one of the foremost con- 
cerns in the brewing industry. One hundred and 
twenty men are constantly employed by this en- 
terprising corporation. To the able administration 
of Mr. Riefe, the company owes much of its great 
success. Being a man of the old school, whose 
business principles are the same as those which he 
employs in his private life, viz., a kind disposition, 
being rigidly honorable and charitable to a degree, 
he is held in the highest esteem by all in every 
walk of life. Mr. Riefe is honorary president of 
the gigantic Plattdeutsche Volksfest Verein, hon- 
orary president of the Fritz Reuter Altenheim 
(Old People's Home), ex-president of Club Vege- 
sack, ex-president of Amt. Hagener Club, member 
of the Arion Society, member of the Herman 
Lodge, F. & A. M., and also member of the Luth- 
eran Church, as well as being associated with 
many other German societies. He was united in 
marriage with Miss Gretchen Horstmann, to 
whom five daughters and two sons have been born. 

MAX F. ABBE, president of the Abbe Engi- 
neering Co., was born at Berlin, Germany, where 
he received a fairly good education and was em- 
ployed most of his time in the coal business. In 
1886 he came to the United States. In the fol- 
lowing years of hard struggle he occupied vari- 
ous positions, took up the study of machinery, 
especially machinery for grinding and pulverizing 
purposes. After making several inventions he es- 
tablished himself in business in 1897 and has made 
a success of it. Mr. Abbe's numerous inventions 
are patented all over the world. The machines 
manufactured by his concern are bought by mine 
owners, cement works, sugar refineries, chemical 
works, porcelain works and other different indus- 
tries and are also used in laboratories. The labo- 
atories of nearly all the universities and col- 
leges in the United States adopted machines made 
by his firm under patents secured by Mr. Abbe, 
who has thus protected more than thirty of his 
own inventions. The officers of the Abbe Engi- 
neering Co. are Max F. Abbe, Lina Abbe and 



236 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AM) THEIR DESCENDANTS 



Paul O. Abbe. A Democrat in politics, Mr. Abbe 
i- a member of the Arion Society and the Amer- 
ican Institute of Mining Engineers. He was mar- 
ried on December .>. 1877, to Miss Lina Bu 
and lias one son, Paul 0. Abbe, who is engaged 
in business with his father. 

WILLIAM P. RINCKHOFF was born at 
Cuxhaven, Hamburg, Germany, on November 24. 
1846, where he obtained an education in the local 
schools. In [860, at the age of fourteen year-, 
he came to the United States and settled in New 
York. He then obtained a position as clerk in a 
grocery store, at a salary of three dollars per 
month. He has been actively engaged in busi- 
ness ever since. In 1868, after several years of 
hard work and steady application, he had enough 
money to start a business of his own and opened 
a grocery store in Harlem. In 1868, he also 
joined the Fifth Regiment, of the National Guard 
of the state of New York and rose from a priv- 
• the rank of captain of Company H of said 
regiment, but upon his election as captain, for 
business reasons, he resigned from the National 
Guard. After continuing in the grocery business 
for some years, he sold his place in Harlem and 
ventured into the liquor business, opening a liquor 
store at Forty-sixth Street and Tenth Avenue 
and while there he did a prosperous business. 
[883-87-88-90, he represented the Seventeenth As- 
sembly District in the city of Xew York in the 
I of Aldermen, having been elected on the 
Democratic ticket. While a member of the 
Board of Aldermen, he was chairman of the 
Railroad Committee. He was vice chairman of 
the Democratic Club in hi- district for about 
twenty five year-, but retired from active politics 
in [906, ;■■ devote all of his time to business. In 
lie joined with John Riefe, H. II. Hings- 
1 Diedrich Knabe and llcnr> L. Meyer in the 
organization of the Consumers' Brewing Company 
of Xew York, Ltd., one of the largest co-oper- 
ative brewing companies in the country, of which 
be was el retary, and in 1907 he was 

elected both secretary and treasurer of said 
company. In iX*/>, together with F. II. ECastens, 
I Lang, Louis Struever and Luer Immen, he 
organized the Artificial [ce Company, of which 

be was el< "lent. 'I'hi> company has One 

of the largest ice plants in the City of New York. 
In [902, together with F. II. Ka tens, I Lang 
and Julius Rinckhoff, he organized the American 
Distilled Water Company. In 1900, he wa one 
of the directors and organizers of The United 
National Bank Of Xew York City, which bank in 
was merged into the Hudson Trust Com 
pane, of which company he is a director and a 



member of the Executive Committee. Mr. Rinck- 
hoff resides at 457 West Forty-seventh Street 
New York City, and he has a beautiful summer 
In mie at Monsey, Rockland Co., X.Y. He is a 
member of the Arion Society, Herman Lodge 268, 
b. <S; A. M.. a member of the Fritz Reuter Alten- 
heim (Old Peoples Home), the Plattdeutsche 
Volksfest Verein and the National Democratic 
Club, as well as a member of other German so- 
cieties. Mr. Rinckhoff was united in marriage 
with Miss Mina Offermann on October 12, 1873, 
and live children have been born to the union; 
four daughters and one son. 

CHARLES F. HOLM, lawyer, was born on 
March 8, 1862, at Xew York City as the son of 
German parents who had emigrated to the United 
States. He received his first education at Dr. 
Medler's private school in Brooklyn, and from 
1871 until 1878 attended the Realschule in the 
city of Schwerin, Germany. Returning to the 
United States, he studied law at the Columbia 
Law School and received the degree of LL.B. 
when he graduated in June. 1S82. In the same 
year he was admitted to the Bar of Xew York 
State and two years later to practise in the Uni 
ted States Courts. Immediately after the com- 
pletion of his studies Mr. Holm engaged in the 
practise of his profession and devoted himself 
principally to commercial and corporation law. 
lie is a member of the linn of Holm, Whitlock 
& Scarff and has organi/ed a large number of 
cooperative enterprises of German retailers, 
among them in 1X89 the Consumers' Brewing 
Co. of Xew York, in 1898 the Excelsior Brewing 
Co., United Wine and Trading Co. and the Amer- 
ican Exchange Cigar Co., ami in later years 
the Ferd. Munch Brewing Co., United Na- 
tional Bank, Hudson Trust Co., Kick Baking Co., 
Consumers' Pie Baking Co., and many similar 
corporations of a cooperative character, all of 
which have been very successful, paying good 
dividends and whose stockholders number in the 
aggregate several thousand retailers with assets 
running into the millions. Mr. Holm remains 
counsel for all these cooperative companies; he 
has probably created more of them than any 
other lawyer, and while this fact speaks for his 
great popularity and the esteem in which he is 
held by the ( iennans of Xew York City, the 
further fact that all these concerns are prosper- 
ous and have stood the test of actual experience, 
speaks volumes for the knowledge and ability of 
their organizer. He has also incorporated the 
Plattdeutsche Volksfesl Verein of Xew York, the 
Fritz Reuter Altenheim and many other socie- 
ties Mr. Holm is a Republican in politics, but 




FERNANDO A. WESSELL. 



237 




KM II. V. WALDENBERGER. 



238 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 239 



has never aspired to or held public office. He is 
vice-president of the Hudson Trust Co. and held 
the same position in the United National Bank. 
Until 1905 he served in the militia and was cap- 
tain of Company C of the Fourteenth Regiment. 
He is a Mason of Herman Lodge and of the 
Thirty-second Degree Aurora Grata Lodge, as 
well as of the Riding and Driving Club. Mr. 
Holm was married twice : to Miss Carolina Mar- 
tiensen, who gave him two children, Una and 
Ion C, and after her death to Miss Grace Boies, 
also the mother of two children, Tertia and 
Grace Holm. 

HON. JACOB HAUSSLING was born at 
Newark on February 22, 1855, as the son of 
Henry Hiiussling who had come to x^merica from 
Deidesheim in Bavaria in 1848. While the elder 
Haussling had not taken an active part in the 
revolutionary movement, his brother had taken 
up arms for liberty and fought in several en- 
gagements with Carl Schurz. The reaction fol- 
lowing the collapse of the revolution drove Henry 
Haussling from home and fatherland. He set- 
tled at Newark and founded the mineral water 
business which is still flourishing and at present 
conducted by his son. Jacob Haussling received 
his education in St. Mary's Parochial School, the 
Grammar School of the second ward, and finally 
in a business college. When he had finished his 
studies, he was apprenticed to a marble polisher, 
but soon tired of the narrow confines of his 
home circle and decided to grow up with the 
West, following the advice of Horace Greeley. 
Hardly sixteen years old, he went to Chicago, 
which was emerging from the ruin the big fire 
had wrought, but did not remain long. Return- 
ing to Newark, he took charge of his father's 
business and succeeded in developing it beyond 
his fondest expectations. When he started, a 
one horse wagon was sufficient to serve all cus- 
tomers, but ere many years had passed, a regular 
wagon park was needed. Mr. Haussling also en- 
gaged in the business of manufacturing soda wa- 
ter fountains, which business was sold to an in- 
corporated company. The manufacture of min- 
eral waters is still conducted by himself and un- 
der his name. It has grown to be one of the 
largest in its line in the state of New Jersey. 
While Mr. Haussling did not seek for political 
honors, it was but natural that a man of his well 
known energy and character should be put for- 
ward by his many friends when the citizens of 
Newark looked for men to represent them. A 
straight Democrat, he was repeatedly compelled 
to take nominations for offices when the chances 
for victory were slight, but such was his popu- 



larity that in 1900 he was elected Sheriff by a 
majority of over three thousand votes. In 1906 
he was elected Mayor of his native city after 
a campaign of unusual bitterness, during which 
the friends of liberty and toleration rallied 
around him without regard to party. Mayor 
Haussling married Miss Ellen Elligott of New- 
ark and has two sons and two daughters, be- 
sides five grandchildren. 

HON. CHARLES G. F. WAHLE, city mag- 
istrate and a lawyer of great ability, was born 
at New York City March 24, 1866. His father 
was Carl G. F. Wahle, a veteran of the Civil 
War, well known in German veteran circles in 
New York City. He attended the public schools, 
the College of the City of New York and the 
University Law School. He read law in the 
office of Frederick H. Betts, at one time a part- 
ner of former Secretary of the Navy William 
C. Whitney, and was later admitted to the Bar. 
In 1890 Mayor Grant appointed him school in- 
spector for the Fifth Inspection District of the 
city of New York. He led the first fight for 
the introduction of electric lighting in the schools 
of his district in the city of New York, succeed- 
ing in calling to his assistance such men as 
Charles F. Chandler, the late Professor Morton 
of the Stevens Institute of Technology, Profes- 
sor Cross of the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology of Boston, Professor Freeman of 
Washington and others. In 1891 he was ap- 
pointed one of the commissioners of accounts of 
the city of New York by Mayor Grant, the sal- 
ary of the office being five thousand dollars; he 
was at that time just twenty-five years of age and 
so far as the records of the city of New York 
show, was the youngest man who was ever the 
executive head of one of the municipal depart- 
ments of the city of New York. He was re- 
appointed to the office by Mayor Gilroy. During 
his incumbency of the office of commissioner of 
accounts he conducted a public investigation into 
the accounts and methods of the Park Depart- 
ment and succeeded in exposing a corrupt system 
of management in various branches of the park 
system, which resulted in the enforced resigna- 
tion of many of the superintendents, and the 
flight from the city of the chief gardener. The 
reforms which have since been instituted in the 
Park Department are the result of that admin- 
istration. He was the secretary of the commit- 
tee having in charge the Columbian celebration 
in the city of New York and was appointed by 
Mayor Gilroy a member of the committee to 
represent the city at the Manhattan Day celebra- 
tion at the Chicago celebration. He is a mem- 



240 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



ber of the Bar Association of the city of New 

York, the Society of Medical Jurisprudence, 
Tammany Society and Anawanda Club. He is 
chairman of the executive committee of the Ger 
man Democracy of the city of New York ami 
has had charge of several vigorous political 
campaigns among Germans in the city of New 
York. He is also a member of the Liederkranz, 
of which organization he has been one of the 
board of directors and a trustee; of the German 
Press Club, of which organization he was for 
many years the chairman of the finance commit- 
tee; the German Scientific Society of New York 
and other German charitable and social organi- 
zations. He was one of the counsel who suc- 
cessfully appeared for the executive committee 
mmany Hall in it- fight to exclude William 
S. Devery from that body, is vice-chairman of 
the executive committee of Tammany Hall, 
one of the vice-presidents of the general commit- 
tee of Tammany Hall for the Thirty-fifth As- 
sembly District, and one of the vice-presidents of 
the Jefferson Tammany Club of the Thirty-fifth 
Assembly District. In addition to this, in mat- 
ter- local to the Bronx section of the city of 
New York, he is a member of the Schnorer Club, 
North Side Board of Trade, Bar Association of 
the Bronx, a vestryman of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church of the Holy Faith, president of the 

ral Church Club of the Protestant Episco- 
pal Church in the Bronx and is a member of 
other organizations. Mr. Wahle was married to 
Mi-> Florence (Catherine Budd of Sag Harbor, 
who, with their four children, occupy a handsome 
home at 1239 Franklin Avenue, Bronx, New 
York City. On the first of May, 1005, he was 
appointed a city magistrate of the city of New 
York for the First Division. He has served as 
president of the board <>f city magistrates and 

ich filled the position with great skill and 
dignity. As an orator, Mr Wahle has few equals 
anywhere in t! of New York. 

SAMUEL THEODOR HERMANN (CARL 
ENDEMANN, I'h.D, chemist, was born at Ful- 
da in I lessen, Germany, on April 4, [842, and re 

Ceived his early education in the College and 

I'ol\ technical Institute at Kassel, the capital city 

of Hessen. After graduating he studied at the 
University of Giessen in t86o and '6i and at Mar- 
burg from [86i to [864 Successfully passing 
through the examinations which entitled him to 
apply for the degree of doctor of philosoph 

ion as tutor at the Polj technic In 
stitute at Stuttgart, Wuerttemberg, where he sue 
ceeded in elaborating hi^ dissertation "Die sauren 
und neutralen Aether der schwefligen Saure," 



which brought him his degree as doctor of phil- 
osopln on April 4, 1806. He found his position 
at Stuttgart as uncongenial as had been the case 
with his predecessors, and resigned at the end 
of the winter term of 1866-67 in order to go to 
the United States. A few days after his arrival 
he succeeded in securing the position as private 
assistant to Professor Charles F. Chandler of 
the School of Mines. Columbia College, and a 
similar position with Professor Jay of Columbia 
College. Two years later he resigned these posi- 
tions and accepted the place of assistant chemist 
in the Health Department of the city of New 
York, where he remained until 1879, when he es- 
tablished the laboratory for analyses and investi- 
gations which is still in existence in the lower 
business portion of New York City. The inves- 
tigations carried on by Dr. Endemann during the 
long years of his practise in New York cover a 
very large field. In the analytical branch of his 
activity he has examined all kinds of food and 
drink. He demonstrated beyond a doubt that 
the self-purification of river waters by direct 
oxydation of sewage, notwithstanding a general 
belief therein, is practically non-existent. During 
the ten years of his service in the health depart- 
ment he furnished valuable assistance to the 
coroners of New York and neighboring cities in 
cas,s of suspected poisoning. Physiological ex- 
aminations and others relating to the effective- 
ness of disinfectants and antiseptics were made 
by him for the city of Xew York and the Federal 
Government, and he appeared frequently in the 
pursuance of such cases before legislative com- 
mittees at Albany and congressional committees 
at Washington. The largest part of his time was 
naturally spent in the field of applied chemistry, 
such as the manufacture of artificial stone, the 
tanning, bleaching and dyeing of leather, the in- 
vestigation of and experiments with asphalt, .yum 
resins, paper and paper stock, drugs, fats and 

oils, including the refining of them, the preserva- 
tion of food and in many other directions, the re- 
sults of which wire published in numerous es- 
says scattered through about twenty different 
periodicals. In connection with these investiga- 
tions upward of fifty patents were obtained which 
are almost all in the hands of Dr. Endemann's 
clients lb- also edited and published an Eng- 
lish edition of "Gerber on Milk," and edited sev- 
eral of the first volumes of the Journal of the 
American Chemical Society. To this orgatu/a 
tion the I" of his life were given, Dr. 

Endemann serving for many scats as director, 
member of the committee on papers and publica- 
tions and as editor. The first practical impulse 
for the formation of this society was given by 




WILLIAM SOHMER. 



241 




l'liil.il' I. SCHMIDT. 



242 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 243 



him, and with the assistance of Dr. J. Walz, a 
small number of chemists was interested, but 
the original plan of forming a small local soci- 
ety was soon superseded by Professor Charles F. 
Chandler's idea of forming a national organiza- 
tion. Calls sent out met with a response suffi- 
cient to make this possible, though during the 
first ten years of its existence the society was 
greatly hindered in its prosperity and efficiency 
by the opposition of many enemies who only 
gradually came to see its usefulness and value. 
Dr. Endemann has frequently appeared in the 
courts as expert, notably in cases referring to 
artificial dyes, the manufacture of paper pulp and 
paper, and the utilization of wastes. He is an 
original member of the Society of Chemical In- 
dustry and the American Chemical Society, a 
member of the German Technological Club of 
New York, the German Chemical Society of Ber- 
lin and the Verein Deutscher Chemiker. Dr. 
Endemann married, on November 27, 1869, Ma- 
ria Elisabeth, daughter of J. J. Miller, and had 
seven children, of whom six are living: Eleonora 
L. Grimes, Hermann K., Gertrude, Fred W., 
Clara and Elsa. 

JACOB LANGELOTH, merchant, was born 
at Mannheim, Germany, where he received his 
education at the Gymnasium, graduating there- 
from at the age of sixteen years. Before com- 
ing to the United States, Mr. Langeloth entered 
mercantile life at his native place in 1867. In 
1873 he went to London, England, where he re- 
mained until 1881. He then located at Frank- 
furt-on-Main where he became assistant manager 
of the Metallgesellschaft. In 1887 he came to 
America, locating at New York City, where he 
has continued to reside ever since. After his 
arrival in New York he established the American 
Metal Company, limited, an extensive concern 
of which he is president. Mr. Langeloth is a 
director of the Corn Exchange Bank, a mem- 
ber of the German Club, the New York Yacht 
Club, the Midday Club, the Downtown Club and 
other organizations. He is intimately connected 
with copper, lead, spelter, etc., mining and smelt- 
ing industries in this country, as well as Mex- 
ico and Canada and among others is president of 
the Granby Consolidated Mining, Smelting & 
Power Co. of British Columbia, and vice-presi- 
dent of the Balbach Smelting & Refining Co. of 
Newark, N.J. He is widely known as an emi- 
nently successful business man of exceptional 
ability. Cultured and refined in his taste, he is 
universally esteemed for his superior qualities 
and gifts. Although disinclined to take a lead- 
ing part in public functions, he must be counted 



as one of the leading German merchants of New 
York City, on account of his success as well as 
his character. 

LOUIS W. HRABA, manufacturer of fine 
leather goods, such as wallets, pocket-books, trav- 
eling bags, tourist outfits, mounted in gold and 
silver, etc., etc., with offices and salesrooms lo- 
cated at 29 East Nineteenth Street, New York 
City, was born at Vienna, Austria, in 1853. At 
the unusual age of sixteen he graduated from the 
Gymnasium, a thorough institution of that city. 
Shortly after his graduation he came to the Uni- 
ted States. In 1872 he located in Hoboken, N.J., 
where he at present resides and where he is held 
in the highest esteem socially, publicly and com- 
mercially. After arriving in this country, al- 
though only a boy, he possessed more than the 
usual grit for one of his years at that time ; he 
obtained a position with the leather goods firm 
of Messrs. Enninger & Co., with whom he remain- 
ed for a short time. After being identified with 
other houses in a similar line, in 1879 Mr. Hraba 
embarked in business on his own account and 
made it a special point to produce the finest leath- 
er goods on the American soil. He has been 
successful in his undertaking and has won the 
name and reputation in the American as well 
as Vienna, Paris, Berlin and London markets 
to stand alone without any near approach, as 
the maker of the finest and most artistic leather 
goods that human skill can produce. His busi- 
ness continued to grow rapidly and in order to 
keep apace with the times, Mr. Hraba removed 
to his present splendid and commodious quar- 
ters, No. 29 East Nineteenth Street. Mr. Hraba 
in 1876 married a Miss Bruetsch, an estimable 
lady of Hoboken. They reside at No. 623 Bloom- 
field Street in that city. One of the pleasing 
features Mr. Hraba possesses is that his success- 
ful business career has never destroyed his great 
simplicity. In his social and commercial walks 
in life he possesses none of those snobbish char- 
acteristics which so often spoil the successful 
man of business. 

AUGUSTUS G. MILLER, contractor and 
manufacturer, was born at Marktbreit, near 
Wuerzburg, in Bavaria, on July 14, 1869. He 
received his early education in the schools of 
Wuerzburg and attended St. Nicholas Parochial 
School in New York City for two years, having 
emigrated to America with his parents when still 
a boy. Mr. Miller engaged in business when quite 
young and became the pioneer of the Miller sys- 
tem of sectional shelving used now by many 
thousands of commercial and manufacturing con- 



244 SUCCESS I-T'L i il.RMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



cerns in the city of New York and beyond its 

limit-. He lias always taken a very deep inter- 
esl in public affairs of all kind- and served for 
seventeen years in the militia. From 1*^89 to 
1895 he was a member of the Eighth Regiment, 

then transferred to the Seventy-first, took 
his discharge and reenlisted in the Firsl Signal 
Corps, serving until 1905. During the Spanish- 
American War he did his duty with his regi- 
ment at Camp Townsend and was later on trans- 
ferred to the armory for recruiting service, lie 
is commodore of the U.S. Volunteer Life Sav- 
Corps, Districl No. 2, an organization which 
is indebted to Mr. Miller's indefatigable zeal in 
its behalf for a large part of its success. His 
principal work has been in connection with 
needed improvements in the Bronx where he 
lives. He is presidenl of the United East Bronx 
Improvement Associations, an alliance of all the 
important taxpayer-' associations east of the 
Bronx River. In this capacity he has figured 
conspicuously in connection with all improve- 
ments in the district known a- Chester. Care- 
fully studying conditions before forming an 
opinion, his judgment is universally admitted to 
he impartial and correct, and it may he said, 
without fear of contradiction, that he has been 
identified with every public improvement in his 
section as one of the prime movers. He fathered 
and accomplished the construction of the two 

'runk sewers for Westchester ami Union- 
port at a cost of $2,500,000, the extension of the 
subway along Westchester Avenue, the extension 
of Tremonl Avenue east of the Bronx and many 
other public work- of great value. In addition, 

I the fight against the poor service given to 
his districl by the Union Railway Company and 

1 them, with the a of the State 

Railroad Commission, to furnish larger and 

more frequent car-. Mr. Miller was married on 

mber jo. [898, to Miss Clara Lohbauer, 

daughter of the well known park proprietor of 

hester. lb- organized the Morris Yacht 
('lub, i- a Mason of Harmony Lodge No [99 
and belongs to a number of political organiza- 
tions. In local politics he i- a Democrat but a 
Republican in national affair-. 

ANTHONY J. VOLK, -0,1 of Jacob and Rosa 
Yolk, wa- born at Hoboken on November 21, 
I [e receh ed I iti( »n in the I [oboken 

Academy and later in the public schools of his 
native city. After graduating, he engaged in 
the undertaking business and soon established 
himself on his own account, He has been very 
successful and has taken a lively interest in 
public affairs. A Republican in politics, he was 



elected coroner for Hudson County in Novem- 
ber, [903, by a majority of nearly fifteen hundred 
\ote- in the ordinarily Democratic city of Hobo- 
ken, carrying hi- county by almost six thousand 
Mr. Volk remains true to the traditions 
of the country where his parents were born, and 
while a loyal American citizen, is ever ready to 
lend hi- aid to every movement in the interest 
of the German-American element. Of genial 
disposition and fond of social diversions, his 
friends are very numerous, and his popularity is 
proven by his success in business as well as poli- 
tics. He is a member of the German Evangelical 
Church at Sixth and Garden Streets, Hoboken, 
Hoboken Board of Trade, the Independent and 
City and Hoboken Schuetzen Corps, Lyra Sing- 
ing Society, Turn Verein, Gehxder Freundschafts 
Bund, secretary and treasurer of the Hudson 
Consumers Ice Co., the Undertakers' Association 
of his state and county. Hoboken Lodge 74, Elks, 
Royal Arcanum, EC & L. of H., EC of II.. D.O.H., 
a prominent Odd Fellow and a Mason of Hud- 
son Lodge 71, as well as a member of many 
other social organizations too numerous to men- 
tion. Mr. Volk was married in September, 1888, 
to Miss Annie M. Kaiser and has three children, 
Florence M. A.. Anthony J. Jr., and Anna M. M. 
Volk. 

GEORGH M. HEUMAN, lawyer, was born 
in New York City on September 21, 1876. He 
attended Public School Xo. 18 and took the re- 
cent-' examination in order to study law. While 
clerk in the law offices of E. 1'.. & W. .1. Amend 
lie took a course of one year at Columbia Uni- 
versity and continued his studies in the Xew 
York I. aw School, receiving the Academic Di- 
ploma from the University of the State of New 
York. He wa- admitted to the P.ar in 1000 and 
i- now in general practise ai 290 Broadway. Mr. 
Heuman 1- verj fond of music. Me began studying 

the piano at the age of seven and later devoted 

himself to the organ, this instrument appealing 
to him especially. Me studied for some time 
under S. Austen Pearce, formerly organist of 

St. Paul's Church in London. England, and was 
organist and choirmaster of St. Ann's and St. 

Matthew'- churches in Brooklyn. Me i- a mem- 
ber of the Catholic Church and finds hi- social 
recreation in the Arion Club. On November 16, 
1904, he married Mi-- Veronica D. Burgart. 

BENNO LEWINSON, lawyer, wa- born at 

Buk, Germany, on September 27, 1854, and re- 

I hi- preparatory education in the Louisen- 

stadtische Gymnasium in Berlin. In [866 he 

came to America, entered tin' College of the City 




245 




JULIUS STRAUSS. 



24'. 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 247 



of New York and received the degree of M.S. 
after graduating with the class of '73 ; and in 
1877 the degree of LL.B. from the law school 
of Columbia University. He has been a resident 
of New York City since his arrival in this coun- 
try and practised his profession since finishing 
his studies. He is a Democrat in politics, a 
trustee of the College of the City of New York, 
trustee of the New York Law Institute, one of 
the "Judaeans," president of the Columbia Club, 
a director of Temple Beth-El Club, a veteran in 
the German Liederkranz, a member of the Phi 
Beta Kappa and of many other organizations. He 
married on October 6, 1881, Miss Fanny Ber- 
liner and has four daughters. 

BENJAMIN L. BRANDNER, lawyer, was 
born in New York City on August 13, 1868, the 
son of German parents. He received his educa- 
tion in Public School No. 35 and studied law in 
Columbia University. Being admitted to the 
Bar, Mr. Brandner engaged in the general prac- 
tise of his profession and met with immediate 
success. He is widely and favorably known for 
his social qualities as well as on account of the 
position he has made for himself as a lawyer. 
Though born in America, he may justly be called 
a German-American in the best sense of the 
word, because he is a worthy representative of 
that element which appreciates fully all that is 
good and valuable in the German character, and 
is anxious to preserve these traits as long as 
possible in order to strengthen their influence 
upon the character of the American people. In 
politics Mr. Brandner is a Democrat, and he is 
a member of the Arion Society, Tammany Hall 
and the Anawanda Club. 

OTTO KEMPNER was born in Austria July 
5, 1858, and came to America with his parents 
in 1867. He was educated in the public schools 
and the Cooper Institute. At first he taught 
school and in 1884 he was made principal of the 
Freie Deutsche Schule, a school which was 
founded in New York City by the German revo- 
lutionists of 1848. Mr. Kempner did not remain 
long at the profession of teacher and was ad- 
mitted to the Bar after a course of legal study 
at the New York University. When scarcely six- 
teen years old, Mr. Kempner manifested his in- 
terest in public questions by appearing as a 
speaker in the presidential campaign of 1876. 
Following the example of Carl Schurz, he advo- 
cated the election of the Democratic presidential 
candidate, Samuel J. Tilden. He took an active 
interest in politics since that memorable cam- 
paign. In 1892 Mr. Kempner was elected to the 



State Legislature from the Tenth District of 
New York City, which was then inhabited al- 
most exclusively by Germans. He sprang into 
prominence at one bound at the very opening of 
the legislative session by a vigorous attack on the 
prevailing boss system in the Democratic party 
of the state of New York. The occasion for 
his speech was the attempt of the bosses to dic- 
tate the election of Edward Murphy, Jr., to the 
United States Senate over the opposition of 
President-elect Grover Cleveland. That first ad- 
dress won for Mr. Kempner a wide reputation 
for independence and oratorical ability. During 
the remainder of the session Mr. Kempner main- 
tained a bitter fight against the debasing condi- 
tions existing in the Democratic party of New 
York. The forces of Tammany Hall were all 
arrayed against his reelection, and defeated him 
in 1893, but the following year he again entered 
the field for the Assembly and was successfully 
elected. He made a splendid record during his 
second term. Mr. Kempner soon became known 
as a leader among those German-Americans who 
stood for good government and were opposed 
to Tammany misrule. In 1893 he published his 
pamphlet on the "Life of Boss Croker," the 
notorious Tammany chieftain, which book con- 
tributed largely to Croker's overthrow. In 1894 
the Committee of Seventy nominated Mr. Kemp- 
ner for sheriff of New York on the Fusion ticket, 
but he declined to accept the honor. In 1900 
he was made commissioner of public works of 
Brooklyn by Borough President Swanstrom and 
made a successful administrator. Mr. Kempner 
married in 1883 and has three children. His 
two sons are graduates of Harvard College, the 
elder of whom, Clarence Kempner, is likewise 
a lawyer. 

FRANK H. CORDTS, president of the 
Frank Cordts Furniture Co., the largest retail 
establishment of its kind in Hoboken, N.J., was 
born at Schulau, Holstein, Germany, December 
20, 1863. He obtained his education in the Biir- 
gerschule of his native city. His father being 
a seafaring man, young Cordts had an early long- 
ing for travel on the ocean blue. After a year 
of service in the employ of the Hamburg-American 
Line, he was honorably discharged at the New 
York office of the company. About twenty-seven 
years ago he landed in Hoboken. He immediate- 
ly procured employment in a grocery store where 
he attended strictly to his duties. Deciding to 
go in business for himself, he next started a 
bread route. Some six months later an oppor- 
tunity offered itself and Mr. Cordts became the 
proprietor of a small furniture store at old No. 



248 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



76 Washington Street, and through constant at- 
tention, increased trade to such an extent that a 
few years later he erected the building at in 

ington Street, a store and four floors, which 
he occupied solely for the sale of furniture ami 
floor coverings. Prosperity continued and eleven 
years ago the magnificent emporium at the cor- 
ner of Second and Washington Streets was erect- 
ed, a large six story structure. It is to-day the 
most modern, as well as the largest house of its 
kind .m the Hoboken side of the Hudson River 
and stands as a monument of honest and 
straightforward dealings. On May 25, 1000, the 
Frank Cordts Furniture Co. was incorporated 
under the laws of the state of New Jersey with 
a paid-up capital of $100,000. Mr. Frank H. 
Cordts is president of the company and Mr. 
Adolph F. W. Matthiessen, born at Oldesloe, 
Holstein, Germany, April 13, 1869, is secretary 
of the concern. Trade of the Cordts Company is 
not confined to Xew Jersey alone; almost daily 
the wagons of the company travel the full length 
of Manhattan Island and Brooklyn. At the age 
of twenty-one Mr. Cordts married Miss Kate 
Schmitt ; four children, viz.: Adam, the oldest 
son, \vh<> died recently; Frank, Jr., Fva and 
Henry, blessed the union. Mr. Cordts has been 
a member of the German Evangelical Church of 
Sixth and Garden Streets for over twenty-five 
He was made a deacon some twenty years 
ago and is acting in that capacity to-day. Being 
a man fond of society he is a member of Hudson 
Lodge X". 71, F. & A.M.; Hoboken Lodge of 
Elks, No. 74: Royal Arcanum, No. 99; K. of P., 
Garfield Lodge, X". -7: Plattdeutscher Volksfesl 
in of Xew York, Board of Directors Fritz 

•• Altenheim Gesellschaf t ; New York 
Schuetzen Corps; Hoboken Independent Schuet- 
zen Corps and other organizations. IK- is very 
fond 1 . horseback riding being his special 

hobby. He has been a member of the Germania 
Killing Chih of Hoboken fur many years and 
at the pre erri time K president of the club. Be- 
ing congenial and affable in his manners and pos- 
sessing strict business principles, has made Mr. 
Cordts many friends as well as the foremost mer- 
chant of Hoboken. M.- is a self-made man in 
the truest sense of the word 

HERMANN KOCH was born in beautiful 

Thuringia, Germany, in l86l, as the son of the 
prosperous farmer, Friedrich Koch, and his wife, 
Sophie. He received his first education at the 
public '-chool of his home village, Obersdorf, 
and then attended a secondary school (Mittel- 
schule) at Sangerhausen. At the age of fi 

he entered a preparatory school and in [882 he 



graduated from the Royal Teachers' Seminary 
of the old city of Eisleben. After teaching school 
for a while Mr. Koch went out in search of a 
broader field for his activities — to the United 
Siahs — and settled in Xew York City in 1884. 
He chose the business career and by energetical 
study of the English language and by close at- 
tention to business he soon worked his way up; 
for a number of years he was manager of a 
wholesale importing house. In the meanwhile 
Hermann Koch had chosen Long Island City, in 
the l'.orough of Queens, Xew York City, as the 
place of his abode. Since 1905 Mr. Koch has 
been established in the real estate and insurance 
business, with offices at Xo. 507 Broadway, Long 
Island City. His close study of conditions of the 
realty market and his thorough knowledge of 
values in Queens have given Mr. Koch the repu- 
tation of one of the most successful appraisers 
of real estate in Queens, whose advice is eagerly 
sought by investors in that section of the Greater 
City; his strict honesty and unswerving integrity 
have secured for him the confidence of a rap- 
idly growing clientage. While Hermann Koch has 
shown profound interest in the promotion of the 
German language, German song and German 
social ideals in this land of his adoption, he has 
at all times impressed his German friends with 
the utmost necessity of accpiiring the English 
language and becoming good and useful Amer- 
ican citizens. Although Mr. Koch cherishes a 
warm spot in his heart for the "Vaterland," and 
although he expresses his affection for his old 
love on proper occasions, yet he is an ardent ad- 
mirer of the democratic institutions of this 
country and he hails his great "Landsmann" Carl 
Schurz, as a model American citizen. Hermann 
Koch was instrumental in organizing the United 
German Singing Societies of Long Island City in 
1899; he was their president for five years and 
he has been one of the directors of the "Nord 
( Istliche Sangerbund" ever since his home or- 
ganization became a member of this great and 
influential "Bund." As speaker of the Long 
Island City Turn Verein, he has been very active 
in the cause of that branch of athletics which is 
so dear to the German heart) his earnest endeav- 
or to interest young Americans in these scien- 
tific physical exercises has been successful. But 
Nermann Koch has not only been an important 
factor in German- American life in Queens, he 
has also been recognized as one of Queens Coun- 
ty's most public spirited citizens; always mani- 
festing a (hep interest in the advancement and 
welfare of the community, the progress of pub- 
lic improvement and the rapid development of 
that borough. As a member of local school 




ALBERT E. KLEINERT. 



249 




JOHN GEORGE GRILL. 



250 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 251 



board, District No. 42, for two years, Mr. Koch 
will be remembered for his undying efforts to 
secure proper recognition for the needs and 
wants of the public school system of Queens. The 
erection of a number of new school buildings in 
Long Island City is traced back to his initia- 
tive and energetical work. A Democrat in po- 
litical faith, his unswerving integrity was so 
highly appreciated by his fellow townspeople that 
he was nominated and elected alderman of the 
Sixty-seventh District in 1903 by a very large 
majority. His record in that office is a credit to 
himself and to his party; he was a true repre- 
sentative of all the people, he was progressive 
and always stood for the best interests of all 
his constituents, irrespective of party. With his 
extensive commercial pursuits and his deep in- 
terest in public affairs, he is strictly a home-man 
and devotes all of his spare time to the comfort 
and advancement of his family. His happy 
union with Emma Herrmann has been blessed 
with two sons. Heinrich, the oldest son, is 
about to take up the study of law at Cornell 
University; Alfred, thirteen years of age, is a 
pupil of one of the public schools of Long Island 
City. Mr. Koch is a member of Advance Lodge, 
F. & A. M. ; Enterprise Lodge, No. 228, K. of 
P. ; Long Island City Lodge, I.O.O.F. ; Sunswick 
Council, Royal Arcanum ; Queensborough Lodge, 
No. 878, B.P.O. Elks, also of a number of social 
and political organizations. 

GUSTAV HAUSER, manufacturer, was born 
in Vienna, Austria, on June 2, 1843, and edu- 
cated in the public schools of his native city. 
After leaving school, Mr. Hauser engaged in 
the hotel business and was assistant manager or 
manager of several of the largest hotels in Ger- 
many, among them Meisels Hotel in Vienna, 
Caspers Hotel in Bremen, Streits Hotel in Ham- 
burg and Gumprechts Wholesale Hungarian 
Wine House in Hanover. He came to America 
in 1870 and entered the cigar business, starting 
in 1872 the well known and still flourishing 
Phenix Cigar Factory at Hoboken. His activity 
and his genial disposition won him a host of 
friends and brought not only success to his en- 
terprise but also made him one of the most pop- 
ular Germans of Hoboken. He took an active 
interest in public affairs and was appointed cat- 
tle inspector under President Cleveland's admin- 
istration, which office he held from 1892 until 

1896. Mayor Stanton appointed him fire com- 
missioner of the city of Hoboken, in which ca- 
pacity he served with distinction from 1892 to 

1897. In 1901 he was a member of the com- 
mittee of fifteen appointed to receive the first 



vessel of the German Lloyd that reached Ho- 
boken after the great fire of 1900 had destroyed 
the docks. Mr. Hauser went aboard the steamer 
in the lower bay and was warmly welcomed and 
entertained by the captain, escorting the ship 
until she reached her dock. In recognition of 
the courtesies extended, the Committee of Fif- 
teen gave a reception in honor of the captain 
and the officers of the ship at Meyers Hotel, 
which was largely attended. He is a member of 
the Hoboken Board of Trade and the Lyra Sing- 
ing Society and a Mason of Hoboken Lodge No. 
35. On November 30, 1871, Mr. Hauser was 
married to Miss Marie Segger of Konigslutter in 
Braunschweig, Germany. He had six children, 
four sons who are employed in his cigar factory 
and two daughters who are teachers in the Ho- 
boken public schools. Mr. Hauser is one of the 
most public-spirited citizens in Hoboken. He is 
always ready to give substantial assistance to 
every movement that has a tendency to promote 
public welfare. Once his word is pledged it re- 
mains inviolate. 

HENRY L. SCHMIDT, manufacturer, was 
born at Burg on the German island of Fehmarn 
in 1857. He received a thorough education in 
the schools of the city of Pinneburg in Holstein 
and entered the employ of a firm of manufac- 
turing druggists at Altoona in 1872 as office boy. 
His good qualities were fully appreciated and he 
rose rapidly until he filled an important position 
of trust. With this firm he remained until 1880 
and in 1882 emigrated to America, settling in 
Hoboken, where he has resided ever since. Al- 
most immediately he secured a position with 
Charles Cooper & Co., manufacturers of chemi- 
cals at Newark, and the first firm in America 
to manufacture liquid carbonic acid gas for com- 
mercial purposes. Here he remained for ten 
years as confidential man. On April I, 1892, Mr. 
Schmidt associated himself with Carl Puck, a 
manufacturer of mineral water at 114 Hudson 
Street, Hoboken, and remained a member of the 
firm of Carl Puck & Co. until 1896, when he 
bought the interest of his partner and from then 
on carried on the business alone. Besides man- 
ufacturing mineral water, he deals in beer and 
ale drawing outfits and supplies and in liquid car- 
bonic acid gas. His trade grew so rapidly that 
the new factory which he had built at 114 Hud- 
son Street became too small and in 1899 he re- 
moved to the premises at 510 and 512 Fourth 
Street which he had purchased and fitted up as a 
modern bottling establishment, said to be the most 
spacious and best appointed factory of its kind 
in the state of New Jersey. He has taken a great 



252 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



interest in all questions concerning his trade and 

: icted treasurer of the Hudson County Bot- 
tler-* Protective Association in 1892, which posi- 
tion he still hold-. In [898 he was elected treas- 
urer of the American Bottlers' Protective Asso 
ciation. He has held this office since then with- 
out interruption, being reelected at ever) national 
convention of the association, a convincing proof 
of the high regard in which he is held by the 
representatives of his trade. In addition he is 
a member of the executive committee of th< 
sociation, president of the Beer Pump Jobbers' 
Association of Greater New York and director 
of the American Bottler-' Publishing Co. In 
1900 Mr. Schmidt was offered the nomination as 
water commissioner of the city of Hoboken and 
elected by a large majority. When his term ex- 
pired in 1905 he was renominated and again 
elected. He ha- been pre-ideiit of the board of 
water commissioners tor four consecutive term-. 
On October 31, 1885, he married Mi-- Johanna C. 
Pausl of Hoboken, who ha- given him live chil- 
dren, one -on and four daughter-. Mrs. Schmidt 
ha-, with her husband, attended every bottler-' 
convention for the past ten years. He occupies 
an enviable position as a business man and a pub- 
lic-spirited citizen on account of his integrity 
and hi- readiness to work for the public good, a- 
well a- in social circle-, where he is known a- a 
genial companion and a patriotic American who 
ha- not forgotten the love for the country of his 
birth: in short, a model German-American. He 
belongs to many societies, among them the Ho- 
Quartette Club and the I'm/ Renter Alien 
heim Association, to Advance Lodge 24 "t 
Ancient United Order of Workmen, B.P.O.E. 
:. Herman Lodge 268 New York, and 
Hudson Countj Court, 334-'. I.O.O.F. 

OTTO WESSELL, manufacturer, wa- born 
at Bramstedt, Holstein, Germany, in 1845- When 
he wa- two years old hi- parent- emigrated to 
America ami settled in Chicago. In [850 they 
returned to Germany with him and remained 
there for three years, when they again crossed 
the Atlantic and settled in New York City \- 
soon a- young Otto wa- obi enough, In- wa- ap- 
prenticed to Mr. Lander-, a cabinet-maker in 

Clark Street, but after a short while learned the 
piano trade ami became an employee in the tic 
tory of Steinway & Son-. Here hi- exceptional 
-kill a- an artisan, hi- quick perception and un 
faltering devotion to hi- duties soon attracted the 
attention of his employer- and he rose rapidly to 
a position of tm-t and importance. Bu1 Mr. 

Wessell wa- too ambition- to remain long an em- 
ployee and -0011 started with two friends the 



firm of Wessell, Nickel & Gross, manufacturers 
of piano action-. They began on a very modest 
scale, hut with the firm determination to produce 
only the highest grade of good- and thereby se- 
cure a reputation for -uperior work. This policy 
ha- been kept up to the present day and formed 
the foundation for the great and rapid success of 
tin- enterprise. Each member of the firm contrib- 
uted his part to the success. Mr. Wessell had 
entire and absolute charge of the business de- 
partment and the finances. Mr. Wessell often 
took delight, in later years, to tell his friends how 
in those early days he personally delivered the 
actions to their customers, and what a great day 
it was when they engaged their first porter and 
how later on a horse and wagon were bought 
and new machinery installed. In this connec- 
tion it tnusl be pointed out that the firm has nev- 
er hesitated to introduce the latest and most im- 
proved machinery whenever it appeared advis- 
able in order to improve or enlarge the produc- 
tion. A- the firm grew in importance, the time 
and attention of Mr. Wessell were more and more 
devoted to visits to customers in the leading 
cities of the country. The business of the firm 
continued to grow until its products were known 
everywhere. Convincing proof of the keen in- 
sight into the future possessed by the partners 
i- furnished by the fact that they foresaw the 
future popularity of the upright piano a- early as 
1875, when the firm issued a circular to the 
trade of which they ever afterward were justly 
proud, and which contained the following line-: 
"We beg to inform our customers in the trade 
that we are now. and have been since 1^74- en- 
gaged in making grand repetition and upright 
piano actions. As was predicted, the demand for 
the uprighl piano has had a steady increase and 
it will lie the popular instrument in America, a- 
it is and has been in Europe for many years." 
There is no question that the firm gave a great 

impetus to the introduction of upright piano- hy 

making actions of the best quality and continually 
pushing them forward. Mr. Wessell wa- an in- 
defatigable worker and hi- ambition to be always 
in the bad did not allow him to take much rest, 
hut hi- effort- were crowned with since--, for 
he reached high rank in his field and the boy 
who had begun life with not much more than his 
11. .n determination to arrive at the top. became a 
large manufacturer, esteemed by everybody with 

whom he came in contact and looked up to by 
thousands. Hi- friends included men in all con 
dit ion- of rank in the musical industries and in 
business, commercial and financial circle-, ami 
hi- strength of character a- well a- his pro- 
nounced individuality, attracted recognition and 




JOSEPH FREY. 



253 




HERMAN I.. TIMKEN. 



254 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 255 



compelled admiration. He died on May 25, 1899, 
at his residence in New York City and left a 
widow and two sons, Arthur, who is a practising 
lawyer of prominence, and Fernando, who, dur- 
ing the life of his father, received a thorough 
training in the factories of the firm and studied 
the science of making piano actions in every de- 
tail. He is now in charge of the plant and the 
business of the firm is still continuing on the 
upward grade. 

ARTHUR L. WESSELL, secretary of the 
house of Wessell, Nickel & Gross, was born at 
New York City January 7, 1875. He was care- 
fully educated at the public schools, Columbia 
Grammar School, Columbia College and the New 
York Law School. In 1899 he was admitted to 
the Bar, but has never followed the legal pro- 
fession for a livelihood, preferring to devote his 
entire attention to the business of the extensive 
corporation with which he is connected. Mr. 
Wessell is a Republican in politics, but has never 
taken an active part in matters appertaining 
thereto, other than exercising his right of fran- 
chise. He is a member of the New York Ath- 
letic Club, the West Side Republican Club, Ger- 
man Liederkranz and Columbia University Club. 
On September 25, 1905, he married Miss Edith 
Richards, to whom two children have been born, 
Benjamin and Edith. Mr. Wessell is a fine type 
of young America. He possesses a keen and ana- 
lytical mind and his work has proven of marked 
value to the company of which he is the secretary. 

FERNANDO A. WESSELL, treasurer of the 
Wessell, Nickel & Gross Company, is a native 
of New York City, having been born in this city 
January 5, 1877. His education was obtained at 
the public schools. After leaving school he im- 
mediately connected himself with the piano forte 
action house of Wessell, Nickel & Gross and 
rapidly rose to the position he now holds. He is a 
member of the crack Seventh Regiment, N.GS. 
N.Y., of the German Liederkranz and New York 
Athletic Club. Politically, he is a Republican, 
but has never held any public office. He mar- 
ried Miss Elsie Cavalli on September 17, 1899, to 
whom one child has been born, Fernando Ar- 
thur. Mr. Wessell has inherited that genius 
which has made the name so famous in the piano 
action industry and is devoted to his work for 
the development of the house with which he is 
so prominently connected, lie possesses a ster 
ling character and has made a strong impress 
on the trade. 

SAMUEL WEIL, manufacturer, was born at 
Emmendingen in Baden, Germany, on April 24, 



1846. He was educated in the schools of his 
birthplace and came to America when only fifteen 
years old. Here he began in the way which has 
led so many able, ambitious and energetic men 
to success, making full use of the opportunities 
offered by American institutions. Systematically 
and persistently, though slowly at first, he forged 
ahead, until he was in the position to establish 
himself as a manufacturer of paste and sizing, 
building up a large and lucrative business and 
making for himself a reputation as an enterpris- 
ing business man of sterling integrity. With 
larger means at his command and a surprisingly 
large fund of energy, he branched out and be- 
came interested in financial enterprises and real 
estate operations. By this time his standing in 
the community had become such that his advice 
and help were eagerly sought by many and posi- 
tions of honor were offered to him which he will- 
ingly accepted, discharging his duties in a way 
calculated to still increase the esteem of his 
friends and fellow-citizens. He was president of 
the Temple Israel and is a director of the United 
Hebrew Charities, the Chatham National Bank, 
the Coal and Iron National Bank, the Mount 
Vernon Trust Co., the United Shoe Machinery 
Co. ; vice-president of the Hudson Realty Co., 
the Lexington Realty Co. and the Vinyah Park 
Realty Co. In a few decades the boy who landed 
in America with little more than the firm purpose 
to succeed and the strength that a good educa- 
tion, a splendid character and an iron determina- 
tion furnish, had become an influential citizen 
whose readiness to assist whenever called upon 
has brought him a host of friends and admirers. 
Mr. Weil was married on May 23, 1875, to Miss 
Ray Schulhofer and has three daughters and 
one son. 

JOHN MOSER of Brooklyn, N.Y., president 
of the Frank Brewing Company of Evergreen, 
L.I., is a member of the Brooklyn Arion Soci- 
ety, the Hanover and Hamilton clubs, a director 
of the Broadway Bank, the German Savings 
Bank and the Academy of Music (Brooklyn, 
N.Y.). 

AUGUST P. WAGENER.— There is not a 
member of the Bar who could more justly at> 
tribute his success to his own unaided efforts 
than can August P. Wagener of 51 Chambers 
Street, New York City. His career has been 
eventful, prosperous and remarkably successful. 
Through his energy, industry and zeal he has 
risen to the foremost ranks of the Bar of New 
York City. His fame has been heralded abroad 
through this and other countries by the extraordi- 



256 SUCCESSFUL GERM AN- AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



nary attention that lias been paid in the New 
York dailies to some of his many remarkable 
The literal story of how Mr. Wagener 
made his waj would form not only the basis of a 
novel but the hook itself. It could not fail to 
stimulate any reader capable of conceiving ambi- 
tion, to courageous, persevering, determined ac- 
tion. August P. Wagener was horn in Germany 
April 7. [850, of German parentage and of a 
good family. An inheritance of $100,000 from 
randfather in Prussia, that he should have 
shared, was. misspent by another and at the age 
of eleven years he determined to take care of 
himself and left home. In [862 he came to New 
York, a; the aye of fifteen he enlisted in the 
old Twelfth Regiment Infantry, United States 
Regulars, where he served nine months, heing a 
stanch Republican and anxious to fight for the 
Union. After the war he managed the business 
of an importer of musical instruments, and event- 
ually, about the year [868, began the stud) of law 
and was admitted to practice by the Supreme 
Court of New York at the December term 
of the year 1870, since which time he has been 
in active practise in this city, a period 
Of over thirty-six years. In preparing himself 
and his studies, he became temporarily blind 
studying with night classes at Cooper Union 
Institute. His affliction retarded his course, but 
could not alter his purpose. His practise has 
covered all cases imaginable, criminal as well as 
civil. Mis experience as a lawyer bordered on the 
marvelous and the history of his thirty-sixjrears 

Of practise would fill volumes. Ill [887 he created 

a wide spread sensation by proving that men and 

women were illegally held in the insane asylums; 
he liberated about fort) alleged insane pet-sons. 
Most (if these were without money, aid all they 

could pay were their humble thanks; he returned 
fathers to their children, husbands to their wives 
and v their husbands and children, many 

sad scenes, tears, anguish and agonj did he wil 

and the expense of manj of tins,, cases he 
paid out of hi- own pocket. The whole press of 
New York came to his a and highly com- 

mended him for his charitable acts ami deeds. In 

persons gave him a 
public serenade and presented him with a 
lution, the stand of which was made by one of 
the released alleged insane men who had been 

ned "ii Ward's Island for seventeen years, 
and who, on being released, found his wife and 
siitne of his children dead and buried, hut still 
found several of them alive. This stand and set 
solutions is held in high esteem b) him. As 
a lav. lubs and 1< idges, 

he is considered "in- "f the very best, having 



hundreds of cases in which he created either new 
law or raised novel and unique questions; he is 
not only considered an expert in this line of busi- 
ness, hut has assisted many a widow to get her 
dues and also has pushed many associations out 
df existence that were not on a safe footing. 
During the year 1S7S he defended forty-three 
different men. at different times, in the Criminal 
Branch of the United States Circuit Court, New 
York, before juries, and succeeded in having 
forty men, charged with counterfeiting or pass- 
ing counterfeit money, acquitted of the other 
three: inie was pardoned, "lie served six months 
and one two years. A remarkable case tried by 
him was the case brought by the Countess Ma- 
rie de Pruschoff, the wife of a Russian Prince, 
to recover a painting by Murillo, known as 
"The Flagellation of Christ." valued at one 
hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which she 
had brought to this country from Paris, where 
she had been the sensation of her time. This pic- 
ture had been taken from a Spanish Convent 
when the French occupied Spain, and it had come 
into the hands of the Countess in Paris. This 
case created wide spread sensation. In the year 
[882 he brought a writ of habeas corpus on be- 
half of Savillar Downing to recover her child; 
Mrs. Downing claiming that she had, as she sup- 
posed, buried her child, hut years afterwards dis- 
covered and claimed a child known as Carlo 
Wilson as her own and disinterring the buried 
child, discovered that it was not her own but a 
different and older child. The entire press of 
the country had for many months reported this 
ease and were occupied by it. The cases against 
a number of usurers who charged two hundred 
to three hundred per cent on loans on furniture 
to poor people were another sensation, he win- 
ning over three hundred of these cases for the 
poor victims "t" Shylock money lenders on chattel 
mortgages, which were declared illegal by the 

COUrtS ami most of the usurers he drove out "t 
the business. Idle habeas corpus case of (.'aid 
Werner, whom he had broughl from Sing Sine 
■ Prison to this city, and in which he ex- 
posed to the public the cruelty practised "ii pris^ 
Oners in the prison, viz.: the dark cell, hanging 
up of prisoners in handcuffs, flogging and de 

priving them of eating, etc. In the Congressional 
investigation of [888 in this city he exposed the 
contract system of bringing musicians to America 
under contract 1" play in street hands and t" he 
relumed I" Germany at the end of contract and 
the bringing over of criminals; as a result laws 

have been enacted prohibiting their being im- 
ported, lie also represented the New York City 
• hands, so imported, before the Board of 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 259 



Aldermen investigation and succeeded in having 
ordinances passed prohibiting the playing of 
bands in the streets of New York. An- 
other sensation was created at the time that 
the Chicago anarchists, who were to be hung for 
the killing of the police at the Hay Market in 
Chicago, 111., when he produced the confession 
of a firebug then in State's Prison at Sing 
Sing, claiming that a person not arrested or con- 
victed had thrown the bomb ; that the men con- 
victed were innocent. The entire press of the 
United States backed up this sensation and were 
kept busy by it for weeks after that. In 1886 
he was the Republican candidate for Congress in 
the Ninth Congressional District in New York, 
running against S. S. Cox (Sunset Cox), and al- 
though only four days in the field was only de- 
feated by a very small majority. As a soldier, 
in addition to being a private in the Twelfth 
Regiment Regulars, as aforesaid, he served in 
the old Fifth Regiment as a private, in the Fifty- 
fifth Regiment as a lieutenant, and in the Elev- 
enth Regiment, National Guards of the state of 
New York, as adjutant. The New York press 
has at different times given his cases unlimited 
space, the Herald giving the Downing case a 
page; on other cases the Sun bestowed a page 
and the Commercial Advertiser bestowed a page 
at the time of its special number in describing 
this career worthy to be copied ; the New York 
Journal long afterwards gave a whole front page 
to the Chicago anarchistic matter. 

JOHN BORKEL.— Of the many men that have 
settled on the hospitable shores of this great 
and free country, few have achieved success and 
distinction in the same amount of time in his line 
of business, as a metal worker, as Mr. John Bor- 
kel, whose place of business is located on the 
corner of Houston and Mulberry Streets in this 
city. After receiving his education in Germany 
he sailed for this country, way back in the '50s, 
arriving here laden with ambition and a determi- 
nation to succeed; to-day he can boast of being 
very comfortable, and can proudly point to a 
record of honesty, integrity and usefulness. Mr. 
Borkel was born February 14, 1844, in the beau- 
tiful city of Alzey, Germany, and was educated 
at the Gymnasium, from which he graduated in 
1858. On his arrival here, during the same year, 
Mr. Borkel engaged as a metal worker in the 
large shipyards and right after the war, when 
ship-building ceased in New York, he turned 
his attention to making metal cornices. As such 
he became foreman for Messrs. Connelly & Wil- 
son at No. 46 Rose Street, this being one of 
the most prominent firms in that line in those 



days. In 1868 he succeeded the above firm, hav- 
ing worked his way up to the highest position on 
account of his ability, an achievement that any 
man might be proud of on account of the high 
standing of the firm. From the time he became 
the possessor of the firm's cornice works he great- 
ly improved the mode of manufacturing cornice 
and other ornamental work, and introduced prin- 
cipally copper for ornamentation of first-class res- 
idences, warehouses and churches. The copper 
and bronze work on the Vanderbilt buildings, Fif- 
ty-first Street and Fifth Avenue and Fifty- 
fourth Street and Fifth Avenue, the large mer- 
cantile buildings corner Waverly Place and 
Broadway, and Nineteenth Street and Fourth 
Avenue, also the Germania Bank Buildings are 
a few of the places in this large city that contain 
samples of his original designs in copper work. 
His good work became known and talked about 
all over the country, and to-day the John Bor- 
kel concern is one of the best known in the trade. 
And the concern that was started in a modest 
way in 1835, stands out alone for its good work 
and straightforward business methods. The Lor- 
illard estate and the Horace S. Ely estate, and 
many of the large trust companies are a few of 
the names he carries on his books and whose 
work he has done for the past thirty-nine years. 
In politics Mr. Borkel has always been a stanch 
Republican. He was president of the town com- 
mittee at Rutherford, N.J., for two years. He 
is a member of Neptune Lodge No. 317, F. & 
A.M. ; a member of the Arion and Beethoven 
Singing Societies ; a director of St. George Me- 
chanical School and of the Mechanics and 
Tradesmen's Association. He has served on 
many committees of various organizations. Mr. 
Borkel has two children, George and Elizabeth. 
He worships with his family at the Lutheran 
Church. 

JOHN STENECK, banker, was born at Ham- 
bergen in the province of Hanover, Germany, on 
May 24, 1846, and received his education in the 
town school of his birthplace. He went into busi- 
ness at an early age and came to America in 
1866, settling at Hoboken. Here he established 
himself as banker and steamship agent as mem- 
ber of the firm of Meyer & Steneck, and met 
with decided success. His reputation as a finan- 
cier of more than ordinary ability, sterling integ- 
rity and foresightedness grew constantly, and 
many offers were made to him to take an inter- 
est in other financial institutions. He is now a 
director of the First National Bank and the Ho- 
boken Bank for Savings at Hoboken, N.J. An 
independent Democrat in politics, he has never 



260 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



aspired to public office, although his standing in 
the community is such that he could easilj 
cure political preferment. Mr. Steneck is a 
member of the Lutheran Church, the German 
Club of Hoboken and a Mason. On August 22, 
1876, he was married to Miss Emma Schmittmann 
and had six children, o£ whom four arc living. 

BERNARD KARSCH, the well known jeweler 
of Eighth Avenue, is a New Yorker by birth and 
was horn in William Street of German parents, 
October 26, 1843. He was educated in the pub- 
lic schools of this city and has always resided 
here. His father, John Karsch, was prominent 
in German circles for many years and conducted 
a dry goods business on Eighth Avenue, near 
Thirty-sixth Street. He was born in Rohrbach, 
Rhein Pfalz, Germany, February 3, 1816, and em- 
migrated to America in 1839, landing in Xew 
York City, where he began his career as a tailor, 
working hard and saving his earnings until he 
had accumulated enough capital to start in 
business for himself. He opened a tailoring es- 
tablishment on Eighth Avenue, which he con- 
ducted for >everal years, and then went into the 
dry goods business, becoming one of the success- 
ful men in that line of trade. Like the Astors 
and other early settlers he began to invest in 
real estate. His first purchase was a lot on Eighth 
Avenue, near Thirty-sixth Street, for which he 
paid, in 1849, seventeen hundred dollars, and built 
a house costing three thousand dollar-. The same 
property sold two years ago for forty-five thou- 
sand dollar^, which shows the increase of values 
in Xew York and the money that has been made 
in real estate by our early residents. Mr. Karsch 
a devout Lutheran and was one of the 
founders of St. Luke's Lutheran Church on Wesl 
second Street, being also a trustee up to 
the time of his death, which occurred in Janu- 
ary, 1890. lie was charitable and kind to all 
wlio needed assistance and gave liberally of his 
fortune to the Lutheran Church and orphan asy- 
lum. I [e v 1 'i the 1 >ld school of sui 
ful upright merchants who are rapidly passing 
away. In 1843 be married Miss Barbara Kirsch- 
mann of Schillerdorf, near Strassburg, Msace. 

The union was blessed with a family of six 

tin.- of which died in infancy, the remaining live 
are all well at present and residing in Xew 
York. Their names are: Bernard, Edward, John 
M., Henry and G All these sons became 

ful business men in Xew York City. The 
subject of this biographical sketch is a worthy 

son of a worthy sire. Early in life be entered 

as an apprentice the obi, well known jewelry 
house of Hall, Black & Company which was situ 



ated in those days at the corner of Broadway and 
Prince Street, where he remained for several 
years; be completed his apprenticeship 
watch-maker and later became a journeyman in 
a Maiden Lane jewelry establishment. In 1869, 
with the very modest capital of three hundred 
dollars, he started in the jewelry business on his 
own account at 635 Eighth Avenue, where he was 
successful ami where he remained for twenty-five 
years. Many years ago he bought the property 
at 641 Eighth Avenue, corner Forty-first Street, 
intending some day to remove his business there 
and make the place his future home, which he 
did in 1894. His establishment is one of the 
finest retail jewelry houses in Xew York City. 
Mr. Karsch retired from active business during 
the year 1007, his two sons becoming his 
successors. For many years Mr. Karsch has 
been held in high esteem by his business asso- 
ciates and has for a long time filled the respon- 
sible position of treasurer of the Jewelers* Alli- 
ance and is also a member of the executive board 
of the Jewelers' League. He is a trustee of the 
Franklin Savings Hank and is a member of the 
advisory board of the Corn Exchange Bank 
(Forty-second Street branch). He is a promi- 
nent member of the Liederkranz Society, is also 
a member of Copestone Lodge Xo. 641, F. & 
A.M. In 1867 he was united in marriage to Mis, 
Kathrine Albeit of Xew York. The union has 
been blessed with six children, three of whom 
are deceased; the living children are Frederick 
\V. and John H., who have succeeded him in busi- 
ness, and his only daughter, Susan, who is the 
wife of J. Louis Schaefer, vice-president and 
treasurer of the famous house of William R. 
Grace & Company. Mr. Karsch retires from ac- 
tive business cues in splendid health and spirits 
and carries with him the confidence and esteem 
of his old business associates as well as a large 
circle of personal friends, both in this country 
and Europe. 

I'll 1 1.11' J. SCHMIDT, who represents the 
Thirty third Districl of Xew York County in the 
Xew York State Assembly, i~ a s,,n of German 

parents who came to America in the early fifties. 
He was born in the city of Xew York in the 
year [870, where he received his education in the 

public schools, graduating at the age of fourteen 
years. He then sought and obtained employment 
with a mercantile concern, by which he was em- 
ployed for about three years. In the latter part 
of [887 he engaged in the general insurance bro- 
kerage business as a clerk, in which position he 
remained until August I. t802, when I 

iploj of William Sohmer in the same line 




JOHN STENECK. 



261 




1 - 1 1 1 1 . 1 1 - HEXAMER. 



262 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 263 



of business and with whom he remained until 
the end of April, 1899. At this time came the 
formation of the firm of William Sohmer, Jr., & 
Co., of which he was made a junior member. Mr. 
Schmidt has devoted a great deal of study to the 
social problems of the day and took a great deal 
of interest in local politics from the time that he 
reached his majority. Consequently he became 
popular in social and political circles and was 
nominated by the Democratic party and the In- 
dependence League jointly, in 1906, to represent 
his locality in the State Assembly. Mr. Schmidt 
was elected, receiving 7,013 votes, against 2,047 
for his opponent. Speaker Wadsworth, early in 
the session of 1907, appointed Assemblyman 
Schmidt a member of the following committees: 
Insurance, fisheries and game. During his first 
term the young assemblyman introduced and se- 
cured the passage of some important changes in 
the charter of the city of New York which have 
worked a great benefit to the municipality. 

CHARLES FROEB, merchant, was born at 
Waechtersbach in Hessen-Nassau, Germany, on 
November 27, 1857, and received his education in 
the schools of his birthplace and of Frankfurt- 
on-the-Main, where he graduated in 1871. He 
came to America with his parents when still in 
his teens and settled first in New York City and 
later in Brooklyn. Here he supplemented the 
education he had received in his native country 
by attending the evening schools. He started in 
business at an early age as clerk in a wholesale 
liquor house in Murray Street, New York City, 
where he remained until 1883. By that time he 
had fully mastered the business and felt confident 
of his ability to attain success by his own efforts. 
He had already acquired a reputation by his 
thorough knowledge of his trade and his strict 
integrity, and when he decided to begin business 
on his own account, his success seemed assured. 
Indomitable energy and ambition enabled him to 
come to the front rapidly and his firm does at 
present, after twenty-five years of existence, a 
yearly business of over three-quarter million dol- 
lars. He took great care to educate his sons to 
follow in his footsteps and to become good busi- 
ness men and they now assist him in the manage- 
ment of the concern that has assumed such large 
dimensions. Mr. Froeb is well and favorably 
known as a man who has become thoroughly 
Americanized in the best sense of the word, but 
retains a deep-rooted love for the Fatherland, 
and appreciation for the many qualities which 
have made German immigration of such great 
value to this country. In every movement car- 
ried on by German organizations to preserve the 



German language, to foster the love for and 
knowledge of music, and to spread the interest 
in the physical and mental welfare of the peo- 
ple, he has taken an active and prominent part. 
A public-spirited citizen, who never hesitates 
to come to the front with advice and assistance 
when important questions are at issue, his popu- 
larity and influence are deservedly large. A 
Democrat in politics, Mr. Froeb has never ac- 
cepted public office, although important positions 
were repeatedly offered to him, but followed the 
call of his party when, in 1908, he was selected 
as one of the electors-at-large for the state of 
New York. He is one of those Germans whose 
success so forcibly illustrates the opportunities 
furnished by this country to the man whose char- 
acter and ability, coupled with firm determination 
and restless ambition, raise him to the highest 
point no matter how difficult the start may be. 
He is a member of the Brooklyn Arion, of which 
he was president for several terms ; the Brook- 
lyn Turn Verein and the Hanover Club ; a trus- 
tee and second vice-president of the German Sav- 
ings Bank of Brooklyn, a director of the Man- 
ufacturers' National Bank of Brooklyn and pres- 
ident of the Froeb Company of 66 Broad Street, 
New York City. In December, 1880, Mr. Froeb 
was married to Miss Alma Kirchuebel of Brook- 
lyn and had five sons, of whom Augustus C, 
Charles, Jr., Frank and Herman are alive. 

GEORGE H. STEIL, merchant, mayor of the 
city of Hoboken, was born at Hoboken, N.J., 
on March 29, 1861, as the son of German par- 
ents. He received his education in the public 
schools and under private tutors and graduated 
at the early age of fifteen, whereupon he imme- 
diately engaged in mercantile business. His force- 
ful character and unusual ability carried him rap- 
idly to the front, and simultaneously with the 
growth of his business interests his influence 
and popularity increased. Of a genial disposi- 
tion, of sterling integrity and strict but fair in 
his business dealings, and at the same time fond 
of social diversions, Mr. Steil was ere long one 
of the best and most favorably known citizens of 
Hoboken. As president of the Nehr Sanitary 
Bed Association, vice-president of the Hoboken 
and New Jersey Crematory and representative of 
the Consumers Park Brewing Co., his business 
activity was extensive and became constantly 
more profitable. It did not, however, suffice for 
the energy and vitality of a man like Mr. Steil, 
and with the patriotic desire to do his full duty 
as a citizen, he took an active part in the discus- 
sion of public affairs. His many excellent quali- 
fications were quickly recognized and in 1893 ne 



2f>4 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



was elected a member of the Board of Educa- 
tion which was followed by his election to the 
City Council, where he served for ten yeai 

51 ntative of the Fifth Ward, three years as 
a chairman of the hotly. In 1905 he was elected 
mayor of Hoboken on the Democratic ticket by a 
majority of over one thousand votes and reelect- 
ed on the citizen ticket in 1907, hi- majority be- 
ing almost twice as lar^e. Mr. Steil is president 
of th Public Library and of the Police 

Board and a member of the Hoboken Cemetery 
Board and Industrial School Board. He he- 
longs to many social, political and fraternal soci- 

among them Euclid Lodge 136, F. & A.M.. 
Hoboken Lodge of Elks Xo. 74, Royal Arcanum 
99, Order of Eagles, Atlantic Boat Club, Ger- 
mania Riding Club, Friday Night Club, Re- 
Club, Robert Davis Association of Jersey City 
and Bruenning Howling Club, and is president of 
the Consumers' Park Bowling Club. Mr. Steil 
married Miss Margaret Sanderson Daniels of 
New Orleans in September, 1889, and has three 
children. 

HENRY FELDMAXX was born at Butzbach 
in the Grand Duchy of Hesse on February 12, 
[842. He received a first class education in the 
excellent public schools and private academy of 
his birthplace. He also learned the trade of a 
baker from his father, but as he was always an 
ambitious student, he had soon mastered the 
French and English languages thoroughly, also 
stenography, so that he was engaged by a lawyer's 
linn in Giessen to put down the court proceeding 
in stenography. In order to perfect himself in 
profession, he foil,, wed the custom of that 
time and wandered through Germany, France and 
Switzerland. He arrived in America January 14, 
1868. lb-re Mr. Feldmann found employment 
with General Franz Siegel, who was New York 
manager of the Great Western Life Insurance 
•any, acting as his agent and private secre- 
tary. Before a year had passed, Mr. Feldmann 
had secured the agency of a fire insurance com- 
pany, and started in business tor himself. Since 
[878 he has been branch manager of the Royal 
insurance Company under the firm nam'- of Hen- 
ry Feldmann & Son, at [03 Second Vvenue, and 
lately added a new branch office at One Hundred 
ami Forty-ninth Street and Third Avenue, Bronx. 
He i- widely known in German circles partly 
through his activity in the insurance busim 
110 1 through hi- participation in 

life, above all, however, in hi- endeavor to Spread 
and advance the German Ian-.- G 'man ideals 

and German education. Mr. Feldmann is a mem 
her of the Arion and Beethooven Singiti 



and of several bowling clubs; honorary president 
of the United Bowling Clubs of New York and 
honorary member of the Federation of Bowling 
Clubs of Germany and of the Bowling Clubs of 
Berlin. Bowling is bis hobby and he arranged 
the excursions of American Bowlers to the Ger- 
man Bowling Tournaments at Hanover in 1891 
and at Solingen in 1904. It may be said, too, that 
he has taken an active interest in every movement 
inaugurated by the German-Americans of this city 
ami vicinity to further and uphold a good cause 
and i- treasurer of the German Peace Society of 
New York and holds the position of first vice- 
president of the United German Societies of Xew 
York. On Xovember 19, 1869, Mr. and Mrs. Feld- 
mann, who had known each other from infancy, 
were married and their happy family life was 
blessed with ten children; seven are alive, one 
son, who is associated in business with his father, 
and six daughters, of whom five are married. Al- 
though Mr. Feldmann has been so successful 
financially and socially, he is happiest when he can 
assemble his children and grandchildren around 
his table and preside at the family gathering, com- 
posed of twenty-two persons. 

JOHX REISEX WEBER was born in Brook- 
lyn on October 7, 185 1, as the son of German 
parents who had emigrated to America. When 
he was three years old his parents removed to 
Xew York City and sent the boy to Public School 
Xo. 17 in West Forty-seventh Street, where he 
received his education. After leaving school. Mr. 
Reisenweber engaged in the liquor and restaurant 
business and conducted it so successfully that the 
modest establishment on Eighth Avenue mar the 
Columbus Circle under his hands grew into one 
of the showplaces of the city. A shrewd business 
man and a genial host, lie made .^ood use of the 
opportunities arising from the growth of the city, 
increased his facilities, improved the establish- 
ment from year to year, and finally erected a 
magnificent building where a few decades ago a 
one-story structure had been sufficient for the 
accommodation of his guests. His case is one of 
those where the ascent to a position of import- 
ance in the community has been visible to all who 
followed his career. Strict and fair in his deal- 
ings, endowed with sound judgment and an un- 
usually large fund of common sense, charitable 
and always ready to help where assistance is 
needed, Mr. Reisenweber has retained the same 
amiable and unassuming traits which charactcr- 
him at tin- beginning of his career. His pop- 
ularity in the neighborhood where he has lived 
practically all his life is well known and he might 
have secured almost any public office in the gift 




CARL EMIL SEITZ. 



265 




HUGO II. Ki I li.Ki:i -Ml. 



2(>(, 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 267 



of the people if he had been so inclined. He 
steadfastly refused all offers of this kind, but has 
always taken much interest in public affairs and 
politics, serving as the Republican leader of his 
district for many years and using his power for 
the benefit of his constituents. In 1898 be be- 
came president of the Excelsior Brewing Com- 
pany and devoted much time and energy to the 
development of this enterprise, having found an 
able and trustworthy assistant and manager of 
the hotel in the person of his son-in-law, Mr. 
Fischer. Mr. Reisenweber is a member of the 
West Side Republican Club, the New York Ath- 
letic Club, the Arion and the German Liederkranz. 
He married on December 19, 1871, Miss Freder- 
ica Braun. Of his five children, Mrs. Emma R. 
Fischer- and Mrs. Elizabeth R. Saltzsieder are 
living, while John Reisenweber, Mrs. Barbara R. 
Fischer and Theresa Reisenweber are dead. 

RUDOLPH OSCAR KRAUSE, druggist, was 
born at Bromberg in Germany on February 8, 
i860, and educated in the Real gymnasium of his 
native city. He served as one year's volunteer 
in the Twenty-first Regiment of Infantry and 
learned the drug trade, studying the profession 
of a pharmacist with such success that he passed 
the state examination with high honors. The 
field for the practise of his profession in Ger- 
many being limited, because the Government pro- 
hibits the establishment of pharmacies beyond a 
fixed number, he came to America in 1881, set- 
tling in New York. His success was rapid, for 
besides mastering his profession to the fullest 
extent, he has the happy gift of making friends 
quickly. Mr. Krause takes a deep interest in lit- 
erature and the arts, is exceptionally well read 
and devotes a considerable part of his time to the 
study of educational questions. He is a mem- 
ber of the local school board of the Tenth Dis- 
trict and has made a splendid record in this ca- 
pacity. For three years he was president of the 
New York Consolidated Drug Company, and is 
a member of the German Apothecaries' Associ- 
ation, as well as a Mason of Solon Lodge. He 
married on July 14, 1881, Miss Olga Stuber and 
has six children. 

CARL BERGER, superintendent of buildings 
for the borough of Queens, New York City, also 
a skilled architect by profession, is a native of 
Germany, having been born there on September 
27, 1869. Leaving the Fatherland while a young 
man, he came to America, locating at Jersey 
City, N.J., where he obtained his primary edu- 
cation in the public schools and graduating from 
the high school of that city with high honors. 



Later he took up a course of study at the Evening 
High School in New York City. After leaving 
school, Mr. Berger decided to make architecture 
his life profession; placing himself under capa- 
ble tutors and by diligent application he soon 
ranked among the foremost in his line. Having 
a thorough knowledge of everything pertaining 
thereto, the selection of him for the position he 
now fills was a wise one. Prior to his appoint- 
ment to the office of superintendent of buildings, 
Mr. Berger, from 1902 to 1906, was inspector of 
tenements and plan examiner in the Tenement 
House Department. He stood first in a list of 
over twelve hundred applicants admitted to ex- 
amination. In conducting the affairs connected 
with the administration of his office, civility and 
courteous treatment are factors which are a part 
of Mr. Berger's everyday life. Those who know 
and speak of him have nothing but good words 
to sound his praise. Mr. Berger is a consistent 
Democrat in politics and is a member of the 
Second Ward Democratic Organization. He is 
also a member of Mechanics' Lodge, F. & A.M. 
of Brooklyn. He has resided in the borough of 
Queens, New York City, since 1894. His reputa- 
tion as a public and private citizen is and has 
always been above reproach. He is largely a 
self-made man and one whom not only German- 
Americans are proud to acknowledge, but fellow 
men of the country of his adoption as well. 

WILLIAM SEBASTIAN STUHR, lawyer, 
was born at Brooklyn, N.Y., October 1, 1859, the 
second son of William Stuhr, who was for many 
years a member of the Board of Freeholders of 
Hudson County, N.J. His parents, removing to 
Hoboken the following year, he received his early 
education at the Hoboken Academy and subse- 
quently studied four years in Europe. On his re- 
turn he entered the University of New York and 
was graduated therefrom with the degree of 
LL.B. in 1879. He was admitted to the Bar of 
New Jersey as attorney November 7, 1880, and 
as counselor three years later. Mr. Stuhr was 
appointed Corporation Counsel of the city of 
Hoboken in 1883 and reappointed the following 
year. In May, 1888, he was appointed Assistant 
Counsel to the Board of Freeholders of Hudson 
County and upon completing the work in hand, 
resigned September first of that year, believing 
the further continuance of that office unneces- 
sary and a useless expense to the county. He 
then devoted himself to his law practise. His 
genial disposition, together with his ability and 
success, made him hosts of friends and he was 
not permitted to live long in retirement. In June, 
1889, he was elected chairman of the Jeffersonian 



268 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



Democracy of Hudson County and in the fall of 
that year was nominated by them for State Sen 
ator of the county; his nomination was also en- 
dorsed by the Republican party. After a bitter 
contest, the regular Democratic candidate, Ed- 
ward F. McDonald, was declared elected and took 
his seat at the organization <>f the Senate of New 
Jersey in January, 1890. Mr. Stuhr contested 
the seat, and being successful was awarded the 
same by vote of the Senate, and he held it during 
the remainder of the term. As a result of the 
testimony taken at the time more than fifty elec- 
tion officers were indicted by the Grand Jury, 
and of that number forty were tried and convict- 
ed. In 1891 the Democrats, gaining control of 
the Senate, unseated Senator Stuhr. Mr. Stuhr 
was married on February 18, 1886, to Marietta, 
daughter of Thomas Miller, Esq., president of 
the Xcw York Cement Company, and who resides 
at Flushing, L.I. His wife was also a near rela- 
tive of General Pettigrew, who was at one time 
governor of South Carolina. Mr. Stuhr is iden- 
tified with a number of social, fraternal and be- 
nevolent societies in Xew Jersey. 

ROBERT F. WAGXER, lawyer, was born in 
Germany on June 8, 1878, and came to America 
with his parents when nine years of age. He re- 
ceived his education in the public schools and 
earned enough money by selling newspapers to 
support himself until he entered the College of 
the City of Xew York, where he paid his way by 
tutoring until lie finished his course as the orator 
of the class of 1S0S He studied law at the Xew 
York Law School, graduating in 1900. Here 
again he wen renown as the best debater in the 
Since then Mr. Wagner has been engaged 
in the practise of law and has rapidly risen to 
the front, being entrusted with many large and 
important cases. A Democrat in politics, he has 

been elected three times to the Assembly with 

majorities. Mi- record as a legislator is 

'illy fine and he was identified with many of 

the mosl important measures passed during his 

term. He was active ami instrumental in securing 

upport of hi- party for the investigation of 

the railroads in New York City, and the Public 

Utilities lull. His efforts to secure the passage 

of a bill fixing a five cent fare to Coney Island 

on all Street railroads have been unceasing and 

tback or defeal could discourage or induce 

him to discontinue his fight for tin- measure. Mr. 

ner is called the father of this bill and the 
v with which he has pushed it and relent 
lessly fought its fr.es has won f<>r him t ! 
teem of his associates as well a- of the people at 
lb- i- a member of the Algonquin and 



Democratic club-, German Licderkranz, Arion, 
the < trdcr of Elks and of many other social, char- 
itable ami benevolent associations. 

HERMAN RINGE was born at Metropolitan, 
N.Y. He received his rudimentary education in 
the public schools and was graduated from the 
Boys' High School, Brooklyn, with high honors. 
Mr. Ringe has practically resided in the Borough 
of Queens, Xew York City, his entire life, where 
he is popular and enjoys a wide acquaintance. 
Prior to his engaging in the public affairs of his 
borough, he was for many years a successful 
operator in the real estate and building world. 
Early in life he espoused the principles of the 
Democratic party, of which he has always been 
an ardent supporter, and in whose councils he 
stands high. He has held a number of prominent 
positions under the borough government of 
Queens, prominent among which are secretary 
of the borough, chief clerk in the highway de- 
partment, the latter position of which ho is at 
present the incumbent. He is chief of the 
Newtown Fire Department, a member of the 
Second Ward Democratic Association, of the 
Foresters, Royal Arcanum, l'.lks. Eagles and of 
F. & A.M., Kismet Temple. Mr. Ringe was uni- 
ted in marriage on March 5, [896, to Miss Carrie 
M. Keller: the children born to the union are 
Herman, Jr., and Lester C, both of whom are 
living. Mr. Ringe is a man of wide experience, 
possessing an unimpeachable reputation and has 
the confidence and esteem of the entire commu- 
nity in which he resides. 

CARL ORDEMANN, deceased, was born at 
Hanover, Germany, April 10. 1854, where he at- 
tended school, obtaining his rudimentary edu- 
cation. He completed his studies under the 
tutorship of his father, who was a well known 
educator of Hanover, as well as a principal in 
the local public -eh. 1. ,1-. After securing his edu- 
cation and serving his tinu irmy, young 
Ordemann decided to go out into the world to 

earn his livelihood. He went to Bremen where 

he obtained a clerkship, and at the age of twen 

t\ five years he came to America and settled at 
Xew York City, where- he resided up to the time 
of his death. His first position obtained in New 
York was in a grocery store. He saved money 
and rapidly acquired a good knowledge of the 
English language. Later, he opened a wholesale 
and retail liquor store on his own account in 
which he met with greal success. After COndud 
ine, stores in various sections of Xew York City, 
he retired from active business in 1800. Mr. 
< Irdemann was a member of the Lutheran 




HERMANN KOCH. 



269 




CARL ISOGKK. 



2711 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 271 



Church, the Masonic Order, the Liederkranz, 
the Friday Bowling Club and the Liquor Deal- 
ers' Association. On March 14, 1875, he was 
united in marriage with Miss Frederica Metz- 
ner, daughter of Carl Metzner of Hanover, Ger- 
many. One child, a daughter, Dorothy, was born 
to the union. Mr. Ordemann was a man who 
was fond of travel, art, literature and athletics, 
pastimes in which his wife also heartily joined 
him. He, with his family, annually made tours 
of Europe. Mr. Ordemann was extremely fond 
of horse-back riding, a form of exercise in which 
both he and his wife took much pleasure. He 
was a man of great force of character, modest 
and retiring in disposition. He had friends 
whose numbers were legion, and to whom he al- 
ways remained true. His death occurred in 
1906, he being survived by his widow and daugh- 
ter, who still reside in the beautiful home pre- 
pared by Mr. Ordemann at No. 169 West Eighty- 
fifth Street, New York City. 

JONAS WEIL.— Among the citizens of New 
York who devote a large part of their time and 
means to practical philanthropy, few are better 
known, and none stands higher, than Jonas 
Weil, senior member of the real estate firm of 
Weil & Mayer. His gifts are so large, numer- 
ous and well bestowed that he may be justly 
called one of the greatest benefactors of his time. 
Mr. Weil was born at Emmendingen in Baden, 
Germany, and came to America in 1861. His 
father, Ephraim Weil, who was highly respected 
in the community for his integrity, religious fer- 
vor and splendid character, had given the son a 
good education, and firmly planted in his mind 
the principles he believed in and practised with 
so much fidelity. Young Weil first engaged in 
packing and live stock business and subsequently 
in real estate operations. Applying to his busi- 
ness life the teachings he had received in his 
youth, he quickly won the esteem and confidence 
of all he came in contact with, and prospered 
steadily. And as soon as his means permitted it, 
he began to contribute large sums to charities of 
all kinds. With increasing prosperity his dona- 
tions grew in size and number, and to-day there 
is practically no deserving charity in this city 
and even beyond its confines whose list of donors 
does not contain the name of Jonas Weil. All 
he asks is that the object is worthy and in the 
interest of the needy and the thought never arises 
in him to make a difference between Jew or 
Christian. Every year he sends large sums to 
the mayor of his native town and to the president 
of the Jewish congregation at Emmendingen. 
He has received innumerable resolutions of 



thanks, executed with much skill, and was made 
an honorary citizen of Emmendingen. To per- 
petuate the memory of his father, he erected a 
temple in East Sixty-seventh Street, between Lex- 
ington and Third Avenues which bears his name 
and is one of the finest edifices of its kind in New 
York. With this place of worship a Hebrew free 
school is connected, seating about two hundred 
and fifty pupils, many of them poor, but all well 
taken care of. It has become the center around 
which the Jewish orthodox movements in the 
upper part of the city gravitate. Some time ago 
Mr. Weil contributed, together with his brother, 
Samuel Weil, and his brother-in-law, Ferdinand 
Sulzberger, a considerable part of the money 
required for the foundation of an orphan asylum 
in Baden. His highest ambition and fondest 
hopes have been realized in the founding of the 
Lebanon Hospital in New York City, for which 
he contributed an initial donation of ten thousand 
dollars in money, as well as land valued at fifteen 
thousand dollars, upon which the training school 
for nurses has been erected. This building is 
known as one of the finest of its kind, is equipped 
with the most modern improvements science has 
invented, and contains forty-five rooms, a large 
hall for lectures and other accommodations. In 
addition Mr. Weil devotes his undivided atten- 
tion and energy to soliciting outside aid for the 
welfare and maintenance of the institution which 
has become a life work with him and of which 
he is the president. He is also president of the 
Zichren Ephraim Temple. His home in East 
Seventy-fifth Street, near Madison Avenue, con- 
tains many treasures of the kind appealing to the 
highly cultured mind and is the center of an ideal 
family life. Mr. Weil's two sons, Benjamin J., 
and Lewis V., follow in the footsteps of the 
father, both being successful business men of 
exceptonal ability and deeply interested in char- 
itable work. 

GERHARD H. MENNEN (deceased) was 
born at Vegesack, near Bremen, on July 13, 1856, 
and received his early education in the Latin 
school and Gymnasium of Bremen. He left 
school when fifteen years of age and one year 
later (1872) came to the United States with his 
parents. His knowledge of the English language 
was limited, but he was not long in finding em- 
ployment. He held odd positions in New York 
City and Hoboken, N.J., during the first year in 
this country. When at the age of seventeen he 
obtained a position with a New York druggist. 
This was the beginning of his subsequent career. 
The evening hours were devoted to diligent study 
along the lines he had mapped out for himself, 



272 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICAN'S AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



and his efforts were rewarded on February 3, 

1875, when be received his diploma and was grad- 
uated from the College of Pharmacy. Mr. Men 
nen then entered the employ of a retail drug- 
gist at Newark, X.J.. and later was associated 
with Albert Brandt of the same city. In Feb- 
ruary, 1879, he established a retail pharmacy of 
his own at Newark. His genius now asserted 
itself. The business prospered and Mr. Mennen 
used his gifts and opportunities to the fullest 
extent. Devoting himself strictly to his business, 
he used every moment of leisure to experiments, 
and long before he became famous through the 
talcum powder business which assumed such gi- 
gantic proportions, he placed on the market in 
1880 the celebrated •'Mennen Corn Killer" that 
quickly became popular on account of its effi- 
ciency and is today considered one of the best 
remedies for the purpose it was intended for. 
The enterprise to which he owes his fortune, 
however, is the manufacture of talcum powder 
which grew from a very small beginning in 1890 
to the enormous industry of to-day. After many 
investigations and experiments, Mr. Mennen was 
convinced that the powder compounded from his 
own formula had reached a grade of perfection 
higher than any similar article on the market, and 
he introduced it to the trade, first in Newark, 
where it was manufactured, and gradually extend- 
ing the sale all over the civilized world. This was 
not accomplished at once, for Mr. Mennen was 
careful to convince himself first of the merits of 
his powder, in which he indeed firmly believed, 
hut which he decided to test thoroughly by 
watching the demand following the first sales. 
As soon as the facts had proven that the public 
not only appreciated the quality of the article 
hut that the powder answered the most rigid 
requirements, Mr. Mennen began to advertise 
on a large scale. He became one of the 1. 1 
advertisers in the country, ami at the time oJ 
his death in i</)_' his advertising account amount- 
ed annually to over $-'50,000. To-day it is pro- 
portionately greater. In Streel cars, in the cats 
of the elevated and other railroads, steamships, 

ns, newspapers and magazines, in fact in 

place where people could see it. the words 
that are now known in every household: "Men 
mil'- Talcum Powder" were displayed. In an 

article of the National Advertiser it was stated 

that lie was not only one of the mOSl skillful 

but also one of the ni' ■ Mil advertisers 

in the country. Wherever he saw an opportunity 

•end his busine S, he acted with promptness 

and liberality, and his advertisements not only 

appeared in medical, fashion, musical and the 

atrical publications and all the modem maga- 



zines, hut also in every conceivable periodical. 
And when he believed that results would follow, 
the price did not affect him, as long as it ap- 
peared to he in proportion to the returns. He has 
been known to pay as much as four thousand 
dollars for one page. Mis ideas can best he un- 
derstood by referring to his own words: "My 
advertising hills amount to over $13,000 a week 
and are steadily increasing; but my business is 
also increasing. This was a fact: the volume of 
business transacted by him grew with every year 
of his life, and in the year preceding his death 
it was larger than ever before. The talcum pow- 
der was used by the United States government 
during the Spanish War. It was used at the 
military posts and hospitals in this country ami 
sent to Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippines. 
To-day the company enjoy this patronage. Mr. 
Mennen was a member of many social organi- 
zations, was a Mason, and in politics a Repub- 
lican, but never radical in his opinions. Always 
broad and liberal in his views, progressive and 
enterprising, he remained to his end, although 
possessing a fortune exceeding a million dollars, 
the same earnest, straightforward, simple man he 
had been when struggling for a modest living. He 
was one of the men who, in this age of large 
fortunes built up by exceptional intellectual en- 
ergy, persistence and courage, qualified to take 
charge of enormous enterprises, assuming the 
responsibilities and labors of leaders in their vo- 
cations. No man in this country can he called 
self-made with greater right than Mr. Mennen, 
who not only achieved a great personal success, 
hut also founded an enormous industry giving 
sustenance to many, by his genius and his irresis 
tible energy. lie was esteemed and loved by all 
who came in contact with him. and his death, 
which occurred on February 3, [902, was an irrc- 
parable loss to the community. Mr. Mennen was 
married on August -'". [882, to Miss Klma C. 
Korb of Newark, X.J.. and left, besides his 
widow, a s,,n. William G., and a daughter, Klma 
C. R. '1'he husiness was first incorporated on 

October 15. [892, and reincorporated February 

|S. [902, with Mrs. Mennen as president and 

treasurer; John J. Korb, Jr., vice-president and 

assistant treasurer, and Charles 1'". Klippcrt, sec 

retary. Mrs. Mennen's efforts regarding the 
education of her son to cope with the enormous 
enterprise which was founded by the subjeel of 

this sketch have heen fully rewarded. Having 
been given every opportunity to tit himself for 

the continuance of his father's fame, he was 

graduated with honors from Cornell University 

June IS, 1908. 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 273 



OTTO G. FOELKER, lawyer, was born on 
December 29, 1875, at Mainz, Germany, and 
received his first education in the public 
schools of his native city. At the age of thir- 
teen he left school and came to the United 
States, engaging in the bakery business at 
Troy, N.Y., at the same time attending the 
public schools. In December, 1895, Mr. Foel- 
ker came to New York City, where he again 
engaged in the bakery business, but one year 
later decided to fit himself for a profession 
that offered greater rewards to his ability. He 
accepted a clerkship with the German Legal 
Aid Society in 1896 and attended the evening 
schools. Later he took a one year's course in 
the New York Law School to fit himself for 
the Bar. At the end of the course of study he 
passed the examination and was admitted to 
the Bar in January, 1898. In the meantime 
Mr. Foelker had made many friends and his 
ability, as well as his unswerving devotion to 
principle, had given him an enviable standing 
in the district where he lived. A Republican in 
politics, he was elected to the Assembly from 
the Fifth District in 1904 and again in 1905, 
and in the following year to the Senate from 
the Fourth Senatorial District. His record as 
a legislator is exceptionally fine. He did not 
confine himself to his duties as occasion re- 
quired but quickly became one of the active 
factors shaping the course of the legislature. 
Mr. Foelker was the first to introduce a res- 
olution demanding an investigation of the 
insurance companies at the special session in 
1905, and while his resolution was at first 
turned down, it was, a few days later, however, 
introduced by another member and passed in 
consequence of an emergency message sent 
in by Governor Higgins. Senator Foelker 
took an active and important part in the in- 
vestigation, and furthermore distinguished 
himself by the independent stand he has 
taken in the efforts to prevent the several 
power companies using Niagara Falls from 
abusing the rights granted to them, and from 
extending their operations to the detriment of 
this wonderful work of nature. When Gov- 
ernor Hughes desired to stop gambling at the 
race tracks, the Senate divided evenly on the 
bills proposed to execute the Governor's 
wishes, and the measures would have been 
lost if Senator Foelker had not gone to Albany 
to cast the deciding vote in spite of the fact 
that he had not quite recovered from a severe 
operation and his physicians considered the 
voyage dangerous in the extreme. In this, as 
in other cases, he has shown a devotion to 



public duty far above the usual average. Fol- 
lowing is a letter from the Governor express- 
ing his sentiments regarding the Senator's at- 
titude in connection with the anti-race track 
bill: "My Dear Senator — I desire to express 
my appreciation of your heroic action in com- 
ing to the Senate this morning. Your courage- 
ous performance of duty at so grave a risk de- 
serves the highest praise and will long be 
pointed to as a fine illustration of fidelity and 
patriotic devotion to the interests of the state. 
I trust that you will not suffer any ill effects 
and that you will soon be restored to your full 
health and vigor. With assurance of my high 
esteem and best wishes, I am, faithfully yours, 
Charles E. Hughes." Senator Foelker lives in 
Brooklyn and is a member of the following 
clubs: Republican, Sixth Assembly District, 
Union League, Hanover, Kings County Repub- 
lican, Invincible, Congress, Seward and Rens- 
selear County Society, as well as of the 
Knights of Pythias, Royal Arcanum and the 
Y.M.C.A. He was married twice: first to Miss 
Katherine Jordan and after her death to Miss 
Nettie Bodenstein. 

CARL WALTHER, Ph.D., D.D., was born 
on August 28, 1794, at Hof, near Bayreuth in 
Germany, and received his early education in 
the schools of his native city and of Plauen in 
Saxony. After graduating, he entered the Uni- 
versity of Leipsic in 1813, but his studies were 
soon interrupted, for all Germany had risen 
against the French who, under Napoleon I, had 
ruled the country with an iron hand for almost 
a decade. The German people at last decided 
to throw off the yoke of the oppressor, and 
young Walther took an active part in the fight 
for liberty. When peace was concluded, in 1814, 
he entered the University of Jena, studied philolo- 
gy and theology, and received the degree of Ph.D. 
and D.D. in 1817. In the same year he received 
a call as assistant pastor from a church at Ham- 
burg, but soon after was elected minister for 
Uelzen in the Kingdom of Hannover. Here he 
remained for nearly thirty years, marrying Wil- 
helmina Schuster of Uelzen and devoting himself 
to the care of his parish as well as to extensive 
studies. In 1834 he was appointed superintendent 
of all the churches in the districts of Hardegen, 
Uelzen and Goettingen by the Hannover- 
ian Government. But though he had grown 
in years and wisdom, his love for civic liberty 
and his belief in the right of the people to gov- 
ern themselves, had not cooled, and with the in- 
crease of reactionary tendencies on the part of the 
government and the growth of the demand for 



274 SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 



freedom on the part of the pcopk-. he found him- 
self in opposition to his superiors. While not 
espousing the cause of the revolutionists, he free- 
ly acknowledged his belief in constitutional j 
eminent and the necessity to do away with ab- 
solutism. As a consequence he was transferred 
to a pastorate at Winsen, mar Hamburg, but 
this did not have the desired effect. He would 
not, and in fact could nut, suppress his desire to 
express Ins opinions, the conflict with the gOA 
ernment increased and finally forced him to re- 
sign his charge. In 1850 he decided to emigrate 
to the United States, a martyr tor liberty like 
so many others who came to America at that 
time. Mr. Waltber accepted a pastorate in Jer- 
sey City in 1851, but was called to Amherst neat- 
Buffalo one year later, and in 1S53 went to Pitts- 
burg, Pa., to take charge of St. Trinity Church. 
Here he found the peace his soul had been long- 
ing for, and here he celebrated in 1867 the golden 
anniversary of his service in the ministry of the 
Lutheran Church. He died at Pittsburg, Pa., in 
April, 1868. His son, Waldemar A. Waltber, 
born at Uelzen in Hannover on March 3, 1833, 
came to America with bis father. He had been 
carefully educated by private tutors, and entered 
active business life immediately after bis arrival. 
He identified himself with the paper industrj and 
in 1859 founded the firm of Waltber & Co., 
erecting bis first factory for the production of 
paper specialties and coated papers in Brooklyn, 
X.V., in 1 861. His business increased rapidly 
and up to the time of his death, on January 10, 
1898, he was active in managing and extending it, 
until it occupied a leading position in the branch 
of industry to which it was devoted. It is now 
carried on by bis sons, F. O. and C. F. Waltber, 
who were carefully trained by their father to fol- 
low in his footsteps, and have succeeded not only 
in continuing the business, but have greatly en 
1 it. Mr. Waldemar A. Waltber was mar- 
ried in 1863 to Miss Emma Marquering. 

HENRY P. GOLDSCHMIDT, banker, was 
born on September 15. 1843, at Frankfort-on the- 
Main, where his family history dates back be- 
yond the Sixteenth Century, and received his 
education in the Realschule of his native city. 
Graduating at the age of sixteen, he entered the 
employ of a banking house and studied the busi 
from the ground up. In 1866 Mr. Gold 
schmidt was called to New York by the leading 
German banking hous< of Ballin & Sander in the 
capacity of confidential clerk with power of at- 
torney. When the firm was changed to I 
S. Ballin & Co., he was admitted to partnership 
and remained with the concern until 1K79. In 



the latter part of that year he established him- 
self in business on his own account, and had as 
associate Mr. Henry Budge. This partnership 
continued until 1883, when he founded his presenl 
banking bouse, under the firm name of H. P. 
Goldschmidt & Co. Mr. Goldschmidl as well as 
the firms with which he has been connected have 
always enjoyed a distinction for absolute integ- 
rity and reliability, keeping free from alliances 
and operations which might even in the most re- 
mote sense be called doubtful. Of strong char- 
acter and a very independent turn of mind, Mr. 
Goldschmidt's inclinations have, to a certain ex- 
tent, made him averse to affiliations which pre- 
vent the free development and manifestation of 
individuality. A lover and connoisseur of art, 
music and literature, his refined taste is well 
known and his judgment generally accepted. His 
city residence at 20 East Sixty-fourth Street, as 
well as his handsome villa at South Elberon, X.J., 
furnish proof of a highly cultivated taste, and 
the faculty of using ample means to gratify the 
recognition and appreciation of the beautiful. 
<)ii March 23, 1862, Mr. Goldschmidt was mar- 
ried to Miss Georgette Woodleaf. 

ISAAC GOLDMANN was born at Gunder- 
sheim in Rhenish Hesse in Germany and received 
bis education in ihe schools of his birthplace. At 
an early age he was apprenticed to a printer at 
Alzey and rapidly acquired as thorough a knowl- 




ISAAC GOLDMANN. 

edge of his chosen profession as his opportuni- 
ties made possible. But the limitations of a small 
citj were too narrow for his ambition and enter- 
prising spirit, and in 1S07 he emigrated to Amer- 
ica, s.uiing in New York, where for nine years 
he worked iii some of the largesl printing estab- 
lishments Of the metropolis. His ambition never 
tied and he studied with Open eyes and ever 



SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 275 



wakeful intelligence the methods of his employ- 
ers. In 1876 he felt that the time had come to 
realize his fondest dream, to make himself inde- 
pendent and strike out on his own account. He 
established a printing office at No. 16 North 
William Street and quickly gained an enviable 
reputation for prompt and accurate work. The 
business grew from the start, larger quarters 
soon became necessary, until he installed his 
present plant in the large building at the corner 
of William and Frankfort Streets. The present 
plant is one of the largest and best equipped in 
the city. In 1900 Mr. Goldmann incorporated 
his business under the firm name of the Isaac 
Goldmann Company, in order to perpetuate its 
existence if he should ever desire to retire. He 
is now assisted in his large and still growing 
activity by his sons and nephews but remains 
the head and principal factor of the concern 
which is especially noteworthy on account of the 
cordial relations existing between the firm and 
the employees, now numbering over one hundred. 

HENRY WOLFSOHN, impresario, was born in 
Germany and came to the United States in his 
early youth, settling in New York, where he re- 



ceived his education in the New York Free Acad- 
emy. An unusual gift for music, combined with 
rare judgment and an extraordinary faculty of 
discerning the powers of artists as well as the 
taste of the music loving public, led him into the 
business of arranging concerts and tours of musi- 
cal celebrities. During the twenty years which 
he has devoted to this field of activity, Mr. 
Wolfsohn has introduced to the American public 
a host of artists who either had already acquired 
prominence in Europe or who, under his guid- 
ance, became later on stars of the first magnitude. 
He has had on his books at one time or another 
almost every musical artist of note, as well as 
many of the best known musical organizations. 
His judgment is universally accepted as sound 
and reliable, and his advice is eagerly sought by 
all who are interested in musical affairs. Inde- 
pendent in politics, Mr. Wolfsohn has never held, 
or aspired to public office. He is a member of 
the German Liederkranz and of many benevolent 
institutions. On April 22, 1876, Mr. Wolfsohn 
married Miss Paula Kesker of Louisville, Ky. 
Of their two daughters, one died in early youth, 
and the other is married to Mr. George Hammer- 
schlag, a manufacturer of paper. 




N D E X 



Portraits and Biographical Sketches 



Portrait 
on 

A Page 

Max F — 

Ackermann, C. F — 

Ams, Max 1 1 l 

Anderson. Henry A. C 108 

B 

Bahrenburg. Henry \V — 

Baruch. Emanuel 120 

Berger. Carl 270 

Boldt, Hermann Johannes 107 

Borkel, John . ." 214 

Brandner. Benjamin L — 

Brunn, Julius \V — . 

C 

Clausen, Charles C — r 

Conreiil. Heinrich 163 

Cordts, Frank H 219 

D 

Demuth. William 151 

Dennig. Rudolph C. R 214 

Dittenhoefer. Abram Jesse 79 

Prakenfeld. Bernard Ferdinand 188 

Dressel, George C 137 

E 

Eggers. Henry 156 

George J 35 

Eichler. Tohn 175 

Eidlitz. Slarc 106 

Endemann, Henry — 

Endemann, Samuel Theodor Hermann Karl 

Engelhard, Charles 196 

Engler, Adolph W — 

Louis Anton 202 

F 

Feldmann. Henry — 

Finn. Richard A. U3 

Foclker. Otto G — 

Fornes, Charles Vincent 166 

Frank, Albert 191 

Frey. Joseph 253 

Froeb, Charles — 

G 

Prank 100 

Otto — 

:ch, Leonard A 141 

rue 215 

214 

I, Carl Frederick 172 

95 



nry P $2 

'mt. Captain J. B 123 

drill, John George 250 

Michael C 80 

II 

HafTen. Louis F 185 

Haupt, Louis — 

Gustav 231 

'inc. Hon laooh 

Hrgnrr, Hermann — 

Heide, Henrv 83 

Heme. A. R 74 

;is J 1 86 

Heitemeyer, Theodore Clemen* 10a 

Helwig, Rudolph — 

-■man Christian Henry.... 138 

M — 

Hexamer, Philip 262 

Hohner, Hans 114 

Holuirr. Matthius 113 

Holm. Charles F 227 



Biography 
on 
Page 
23S 

123 

69 
200 



212 

267 
203 

259 
247 
212 



145 
122 
247 



109 
207 
133 



l6l 
98 
I 10 

97 
189 

240 
173 
223 
207 



264 
157 
273 
149 
103 
229 
263 



217 
229 
104 
193 
'03 
235 
157 
274 

92 

224 
140 



ISO 
204 
251 
239 
229 

139 
tiS 
146 
208 
204 
244 
223 
161 
162 
236 



Portrait 
on 

H Page 

Hornfeck, Hermann Heinrich 131 

Hottenroth, Adolph C 165 

Hraba, Louis \V 144 

Adolph G 155 

Hupfcl, Tohn Christian Glaser 171 

I 

[den, Henry 99 

J 

Joseph, Frederick 160 

Joseph, Herman 177 

K 

K.-ihn. Otto II 67 

Karsch, Bernard 231 

Kempner, Otto — 

Keufrel, William 101 

Kiliani. Otto George Theobald — 

Kleinert, Albert E 249 

Koch, Hermann 269 

Kolle, Frederick Strang — 

Krause, Rudolph Oscar — 

Krug, Florian 119 

Kudlich. Dr. Hans 44 

L 

Langeloth, Jacob 71 

Lankering, Adolph 198 

Lauterbach, Edward 89 

Lentz, Carl 142 

Lewinson, Benno — 

Lichtenstein, Paul — 

Lustgarten, Sigmund — 

M 

Mack. Jacob Wolfgang 213 

Mayer, David 159 

Mennen. Gerhard II 181 

Mm.-. Herman A 88 

Mietz, August 136 

Miller. AugUSt G 220 

Molir. Justin Fred'k William 93 

Moser, John — 

N 

Nissen, Ludwig 118 



• tbermayer, Charles 1 245 

Oelkers. John I! 1 26 

Ordemann, Carl 23a 

1 Hi... John Martin 112 

P 

William 170 

Pi 1. rs, Carl Otto 214 

Pfizer, Charles 73 

Prieth, 1'.. 11. did 125 

R 

Rappenhagen, Peter II 213 

Reichhelm, Edward Paul 201 

in 228 

K' iMiii;ri . I ! 11 k '47 

Riefe, fohn 225 

Rinckhoff. William P 226 

Ringe, Herman — 

Ritterbusch, Hugo H 266 

Rothbarth, Adolph 96 

Ruppert, Jacob '76 

s 

I ■ r, lohn Louis 152 

Rudolph J 178 

Hon. Charles Adolph • • • • 59 



Biography 
on 

Page 
189 
194 
243 
115 
115 

76 



'79 
194 



75 
260 
247 
149 
203 
208 
248 
21 1 
267 
204 

54 



243 

184 
128 
'54 
244 
21 1 
207 



168 
116 
271 
109 
140 
243 
82 
255 



85 



21 1 
158 
268 
168 



1 a 1 
207 
130 
'58 



218 
«67 
264 
104 
235 
236 
268 
229 
211 
121 



140 
127 
6S 



INDEX 



277 



Portrait Biography 
on on 

S Page Page 

Schiff, Jacob Henry 51 58 

Schirmer, Charles F — 200 

Schmidt, Henry L 222 251 

Schmidt, Philip J 242 260 

Schurz, Carl 2 45 

Schwab, Gustav H 47 57 

Seitz, Carl Emil 265 230 

Seligman, Isaac N 56 62 

Seligman, Joseph 55 61 

Siegel, Henry 105 81 

Sohmer, Hugo 164 127 

Sohmer, William 241 146 

Speyer, James 63 70 

Stadler, Charles A 206 134 

Steenken, John Godfrey 195 183 

Steil, George H 222 263 

Steneck, John : 261 259 

Stern, Leopold 90 168 

Strasbourger, Samuel — . 223 

Strauss, Julius 246 218 

Stuhr, William Sebastian 72 267 

Sulzberger, Ferdinand 197 190 

Sutro, Theodore 213 153 

T 

Thalman, Ernst 87 82 

Timken, Herman L 254 199 



Portrait 
on 

V Page 

Yolk, Anthony J 2 i6 

Vom Cleff, Robert i 30 

Von Der Bruck, Charles 

W 

Wagner, August P 210 

Wagner, Robert F — 

Wahle, Hon. Charles G. F 209 

Waldenberger, Emil V 238 

Walther, Carl 68 

Walther, Waldemar A — 

Weber, Adam 117 

Wehrum, Charles Christian 205 

Weidemann, Jacob 124 

Weil, Jonas 222 

Weil, Samuel 132 

Welte, Emil 213 

Wesendonck, Hugo 94 

Wessell, Arthur L 234 

Wessell, Fernando A 237 

Wessell, Otto 233 

Wicke, William 77 

Windmuller, Louis 129 

Windolph, John P 187 

Wischmann, Hermann 257 

Wissner, Otto 169 

Wolfsohn, Henry — 



Biography 
on 
Page 

244 

184 
208 



255 
268 
239 
218 
273 
273 

86 
162 
'So 
271 
255 
174 

75 
255 
255 
252 

66 

82 
224 
180 
128 
275 



































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